Ukraine, Germany Coordinate Stances Ahead Of Trilateral Gas Talks - Ambassador

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th September, 2019) Ukrainian Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel and German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier have held phone talks and coordinated the positions of Kiev and Berlin ahead of the upcoming trilateral EU-Russia-Ukraine talks on post-2019 gas transit, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk said on Wednesday.

"The first phone conversation between energy ministers of Ukraine and Germany, Oleksiy Orzhel and Peter Altmaier, has just taken place: they coordinated positions ahead of the trilateral talks on gas transit through Ukraine," Melnyk posted on Twitter.

The existing contract for the transit of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine will expire by the end of the year. The parties have not yet reached consensus on the transit, with the previous rounds of trilateral consultations, which were held in July 2018 and January 2019 in Brussels, failing to result in an agreement.

The next round of trilateral talks between the European Union, Russia and Ukraine is scheduled to take place on Thursday in Brussels.