Russian and Ukrainian gas companies say they have finalised a slew of contracts ensuring uninterrupted transit of Russian natural gas to Europe. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the agreements that were signed late Monday, saying they will allow Ukraine to get at least $7 billion in transit payments from Russia over the next five years. Russia ships about 40% of its European gas deliveries through pipelines that cross Ukraine. It follows the December 9 talks in Paris between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany on settling the conflict in the east. The Ukraine-Russia gas deal envisaged payment by Russia of $2.9 billion to settle an arbitration claim resulting from previous transit disputes and waived any other claims related to the 2009 transit contract.

Source: The Hindu December 31, 2019 00:22 UTC