Transit package agreement doesn’t include direct gas supplies from Russia - Orzhel

Energy and Environmental Protection Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Orzhel stated this at a briefing on Saturday, commenting on the results of the talks that took place in Minsk on December 20, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

“Direct supplies - we have excluded this position from the package agreement. If they are potentially carried out, then they will be based on the price of the European hub. This is a principle, but it is not an element of the package," said Orzhel.

As reported, following the fifth round of gas transit talks in Berlin on December 19, Energy and Environmental Protection Minister Oleksiy Orzhel and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stated that a final protocol had been developed which brought the parties closer to signing the final agreements.

During the talks in Minsk on December 20, representatives of the European Commission, Ukraine and the Russian Federation reached a final agreement on principle positions on the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine.

The current gas transit contract between Naftogaz and Gazprom expires on December 31, 2019.

iy