Russian min says new gas meeting to be held next week

VIENNA/BRUSSELS, Dec 6 (PRIME) -- A gas meeting between Russia, Ukraine and the E.U. can be held next week, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters late on Thursday.

“We are ready to meet anytime,” Novak said, adding that the Russian and Ukrainian companies need to finish working and consulting on their documents.

An E.U. source said that the date of the next meeting had not been agreed. “The new dates of a trilateral meeting on the level of ministers have not been agreed yet,” the source said.

Ukraine stopped direct purchases of Russian gas in 2015. The current gas supply and transit contracts between the countries expire at the end of 2019. The representatives of Russia said at the last trilateral meeting that some package solutions of the transit issue exist, which might include settlement of the court disputes between Russian and Ukrainian companies.

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