Moscow, Kiev to hold gas talks in Brussels

A fresh round of talks brokered by the European Union with the aim of settling a gas dispute between Moscow and Kiev is scheduled to be held in the Belgian city of Brussels, the Russian Energy Ministry says.

“Trilateral negotiations will take place on March 20 in Brussels in the Russia-Ukraine-EU format with the participation of Energy Minister Alexander Novak,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the European Commission, however, said not all parties involved in the talks have confirmed the trilateral meeting.

On March 2, Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement over a natural gas delivery deal until the end of the month, following a row over supplies to eastern Ukraine, the European Union said.

“I am satisfied that we managed to safeguard the full application of the Winter Package for the supply needs in Ukraine,” said European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic in a statement.

The deal, which secures gas supplies to Europe, was reached after five-hour-long talks between Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Ukrainian Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn, and Sefcovic.

Late in February, Russia’s state-owned gas company, Gazprom, threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine and divert supplies to the country’s eastern regions, which are controlled by pro-Russia forces.

The row threatened to interrupt gas supplies to the EU, which procures around a third of its gas from Russia, half of which is delivered through pipelines running through Ukraine.

EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, lauded the deal, which was reached despite relations between the EU and Russia being at their lowest for years over the crisis in Ukraine.

“The outcome of today’s meeting on energy issues can help bridge differences over the supply of gas between Ukraine and Russia,” she said.