EU to Hold Gas Talks with Russia Later This Month

EU Energy Minister Gunther Oettinger and Russia’s Alexander Novak are expected to be holding talks on gas supplies at the end of the month. 

Russia rejected a proposal from the European Commissions to hold trilateral negotiations with Ukraine, preferring to hold bilateral talks on August 29. The agenda of the meeting has not yet been defined.

According to different sources, the negotiation will take place in Moscow. The two parts will review the situation and, possibly, prepare the ground for a trilateral meeting.  

The European Union imposed sanctions on Russia, targeting its defence, energy and banking sectors. However, sanctions did not directly take aim at gas deals. 

“Gas cannot be allowed to become a political football,” OMV’s Chief Executive Gerhard Roiss commented on Monday.