Russia, Ukraine agree to resume trilateral energy talks

Speaking at a press conference on the morning of August 27 after a bilateral meeting in Minsk, Belarus, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had reached an agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko on resuming trilateral energy negotiations.

This information was also confirmed by Mr. Poroshenko, adding that energy ministerial talks between Russia, Ukraine and the European Union (EU) will take place on September 6.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko during a meeting in June. (Source: AP)

Speaking to reporters, President Putin said resuming energy talks, including on gas issues, was necessary because the issue was "at a standstill."

Earlier, EU representative for energy Guenther Oettinger also announced in Minsk that the parties had reached an agreement to conduct gas consultations between the EU, Russia and Ukraine. The Russian and Ukrainian negotiating delegations will include representatives of the government and the two corporations Gazprom (Russia) and Naftogaz (Ukraine).

According to the EU official, the EU representative will meet with Russian Energy Minister Aleksander Novak in Moscow on August 29 to discuss resuming trilateral consultations with the aim of persuading Russia and Ukraine to accept a temporary solution until the case at the arbitration court in Stockholm, where the two sides have filed lawsuits against each other, is resolved.

Regarding Kiev's proposal to change the gas delivery location, Minister Novak said that the issue of selling Russian gas to European consumers at the Russian-Ukrainian border is not currently being discussed. Changing the location as proposed by Kiev would entail complex and fundamental changes in the entire process of gas supplies to Europe. In the current context, Russia does not see any positive basis for making this change.

The gas conflict and the safety of Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine were among the most discussed issues at the August 26 meeting in Minsk between the heads of state of Ukraine, the Customs Union countries and EU representatives./.

According to VNA