Two new rounds of three-party gas talks to be held in May - European Commission

BRUSSELS, May 6 (Itar-Tass) - Two new rounds of three-party talks on gas issues between representatives of Russia, Ukraine and the European Union will be held in the middle and at the end of May, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger’s spokeswoman Sabine Berger said. Asked by journalists about the results of the first meeting on May 2 in the Polish capital Warsaw, Berger disagreed with the viewpoint that the talks ended without effect. She said all sides stressed that three-party discussions are important and agreed to meet again. The spokeswoman also said Tuesday the European Commission hopes all gas issues may be resolved at the end of this month. At Warsaw’s meeting, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Ukrainian parliament-appointed Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yury Prodan and Oettinger reached an agreement to draft measures by the end of May to overcome the crisis around the deliveries of Russian gas to Ukrainian and European consumers. Commenting on Oettinger’s statement that the purchasing price for gas should be one and the same for all EU members, Berger explained that the EU’s national energy markets are becoming ever more interconnected and gas prices should not be pegged to oil prices, so that different manufacturers and gas suppliers are able to compete with each other. Berger said she and her colleagues will analyze the issue shortly before the European Council’s meeting in June for which they are drafting a survey on reinforcing EU energy security and cutting its dependency on Russian gas. Learn more on itar-tass.com