The sides started with negotiations with a small number of participants. Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Chief Executive Officer of Gazprom Aleksei Miller, European Commission’s Vice-President for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic, Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine Aleksey Orzhel and Chief Executive Officer of Andrei Kobolev are participating in the meeting.
Sefcovic said earlier that the European Commission would push for a long-term transit contract for Kiev during the consultations on September 19 to back the attractiveness of the Ukrainian gas-transport system to draw investment in its modernization.
Before the meeting Kobolev said that Kiev is positive about the chances to reach an agreement with Russia on the gas transit issue, while Novak said that Moscow is ready for constructive talks. Orzhel said that Ukraine is ready to discuss various options of extending the gas transit contract - both short-term and long-term, though all that still remains on the table.