Moscow and Kiev may be approaching a gas deal ahead at key talks in Brussels. German Chancellor Angele Merkel has called on Kyiv to shoulder more responsibility in the dispute, reports GHN based on DW.
The European Union is set to host gas talks between Russia and Ukraine aimed at securing a payment deal and avoiding disrupting gas supplies this winter. Russian energy minister Alexander Nowak, and his Ukraine counterpart Yuri Prodan, are scheduled to meet in Brussels on Tuesday. The two sides still differ over how to calculate Kyiv's gigantic gas debt and the schedule for payments, and Moscow has expressed doubts about Ukraine's ability to provide the money. Also, it is still unclear how much gas Ukraine is to get from Russia, and under which conditions.
"The devil is in the details. I don't think that Russian gas will be delivered soon to Ukraine," a Russian government source close to gas talks told Reuters. European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, who has been working with both sides since May, will also mediate the Tuesday meeting.
