Russia Energy Minister, EU Energy Commissioner to Discuss South Stream

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger will meet in Moscow on August 29, Russia's Energy Ministry said.

According to Itar-Tass, quoting the ministry statement, the talks will focus on the security of Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine, legal and technical aspects of the South Stream gas pipeline project, full use of the OPAL pipeline by Gazprom, and the Russia-EU Energy Dialogue.

On August 5, Oettinger’s press service confirmed plans to hold the meeting with Novak and said the central issue at the talks would be the possibility of resuming trilateral gas consultations between Ukraine, the European Commission and Russia.

The commissioner’s spokesperson Marlene Holzner said Oettinger and Novak would discuss the date of a new trilateral meeting.

Tripartite consultations, involving Novak, his Ukrainian counterpart Yuriy Prodan, and Guenther Oettinger, started on May 2 and ended on June 16 with no result. After that, Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine filed lawsuits against each other at the Stockholm arbitration court.

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