Russia, Ukraine and the European Union, after hours-long talks in Berlin on December 19, agreed in principle on a new gas deal starting after January 1, 2020. The agreement is to be confirmed by the authorities of Ukraine and Russia today, December 20, IPN reports, quoting the Ukrainian publication unian.net

“After these very intensive talks, I am very glad to say that we reached an agreement in principle on all key elements which I believe is very positive news for Europe, for Russia and Ukraine,” European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic told a briefing.

For his part, Ukraine’s Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel said the sides agreed on a high-quality final deal and this brings the countries closer to the signing of the final agreements.

Ukraine is a key transit route for Russian piped gas exports to Europe. The current deal between the two post-Soviet countries expires on December 31 this year. Earlier, the Moldovan authorities expressed their confidence that the Russian gas will reach Moldova via Ukraine after January 1, 2020 too. They said Moldova signed the contracts needed for an eventual alternative scenario.