Gazprom on upcoming gas talks with Ukraine in Minsk

Gazprom will continue consultations with Ukraine on gas issues in Minsk today after trilateral talks in Berlin, the Russian company said.

"Talks with Ukraine on gas will continue on Friday in Minsk," Gazprom said, adding that the talks will be "not technical" and the level of representation will be high. "From Gazprom — head [Alexey] Miller," TASS cited the company as saying.

Trilateral talks on gas were held between Russia, the European Union and Ukraine in Berlin yesterday. The sides agreed on a draft deal on gas at the consultations. At the press conference, they said that the parties plan to coordinate the package deal with the leadership of their respective countries on December 20.

The details of the draft agreement were not made public. However, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the sides discussed specific volumes and terms of the contract on Russian gas transit via Ukraine.