Source says Russia, Ukraine, EU technical gas talks postponed

BRUSSELS, Nov 29 (PRIME) -- The technical consultations between Russia, Ukraine, and the E.U. in the natural gas disputes between Moscow and Kiev were postponed to the next week, a European Commission (EC) source told PRIME on Friday.

“The technical consultations were delayed to the next week,” the source said without disclosing a reason for the decision.

On Monday, an EC source with knowledge of the matter told PRIME that the commission suggested holding the next round of gas negotiations with Russia and Ukraine in early December. Executive Director of Ukrainian energy holding Naftogaz Ukrainy Yury Vitrenko said on Thursday that the deadline for the two countries to sign a long-term gas transit contract was December 13.

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.

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