EU says Moscow, Kiev may agree on gas transit in 2019

BRUSSELS, Feb 5 (PRIME) -- Moscow and Kiev can agree on transit of Russian natural gas to the E.U. until the end of 2019 although ministerial negotiations will resume only in May, Dominique Ristori, director general of the European Commission’s General Directorate for Energy, told PRIME on Tuesday.

“I hope that it will happen. I think that it corresponds to interests of all the key partners,” he said, answering a corresponding question.

The contract on Russian gas transit across Ukraine expires at the end of 2019.

Russia, Ukraine, and the E.U. held the latest round of talks in late January, but failed to reach an agreement. The European Commission suggested several key points of a possible contract, saying that it should cover 10 years and that the transit volumes should be high enough for Ukraine to attract investors to upgrade the gas transportation system.

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