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Russia-EU-Ukraine ministerial meeting scheduled for early December — source

The latest trilateral ministerial meeting was held in Brussels on October 28

BRUSSELS, November 25. /TASS/. The next trilateral ministerial gas meeting between Russia, the European Union and Ukraine is scheduled for the first week of December, an EU source told TASS on Monday.

"The ministerial-level meeting is scheduled for the first week of December. It will be preceded by expert consultations set to November 29," the source said.

The latest trilateral ministerial meeting was held in Brussels on October 28. Two rounds of expert consultations were held since then.

Russia, the European Commission and Ukraine have been in consultations on gas transit after 2020. However, the dialogue is complicated by the ongoing legal disputes between Russia’s Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine. Moscow offers a "package solution" that includes a settlement agreement on litigation and direct gas purchases at reduced prices. As a fallback, Russia is ready to extend the current transit agreement for the whole 2020.

The existing contracts for the supply and transit of Russian gas through Ukraine expire on December 31. By this time, Russia plans to launch two gas pipelines bypassing Ukraine — the Nord Stream 2 and the TurkStream.