Kyiv intends to resolve Russian gas transit issue in September, president says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv intends to resolve in September the issue regarding the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine after the existing gas transit contract expires in 2019.

Zelensky's statement came during a joint press conference in Kyiv with President of the European Council Donald Tusk and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, an UNIAN correspondent reports.

"As far as I know, they want to continue the talks [regarding the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine] in December, but this is about energy security for Ukraine, and I told of my position and the position of our team: in September, we want to sit down at the negotiating table and settle this issue. I think we will succeed," he said.

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As UNIAN reported earlier, on January 21 in Brussels, Ukraine-EU-Russia trilateral talks were held on gas transit issues after 2019.

On April 24, Vice President of the European Commission Maros Sefcovic said that the next round of talks in the same format could take place at the end of May, immediately after the election of a new president of Ukraine.

On May 20, after the inauguration of President Zelensky, Sefcovic said that the European Union intended to resume negotiations.

According to the Naftogaz CCO Yuriy Vitrenko, Gazprom has been deliberately postponing the holding of talks until the new government has been formed in Ukraine following parliamentary elections.