Ukraine, Russia gas talks end without final deal

Talks between Ukraine and Russia sponsored by the European Union on Tuesday ended without a decisive breakthrough on a deal over gas supplies.

The Associated Press reports the talks failed to bring about an agreement between Russia and Ukraine over how much Ukraine should pay for past natural gas shipments.

{mosads}On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko hammered out a broad deal but finer details have yet to be set.

“One obstacle is that Ukraine has not paid its gas bills for 7 months,” said EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, according to the AP. “If you go along to the butcher and don’t pay your bill for half a year, obviously it is a problem.”
Past talks over the summer ended without a deal but the EU has said this time the countries are close.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine will continue next week.