Ukraine and Russia have reached an agreement on a new gas transit contract on Dec. 19 at a trilateral meeting in Berlin between Ukrainian Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel, his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak, and Maroš Sefcovic, the vice president of the European Commission.
“After these very intensive talks, I am very glad to say we reached an agreement in principle on all key elements,” Sefcovic said at a press briefing.
The details of the agreement such as its terms, volumes, and fees were not disclosed. The draft document needs to be finalized by Kyiv and Moscow before going for signature, Sefcovic said.
The 2009 contract for the transit of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian pipelines expires on Dec. 31. Russia is building two new pipelines, TurkStream and Nord Stream 2, to Europe bypassing Ukraine. The former is almost totally complete, while the latter is nearing completion.
However, Germany has announced that Nord Stream 2 will not be put into operation until Moscow agrees to extend the transit contract.
Ukraine receives roughly 3% percent of its GDP from gas transit fees.
