Pellegrini in Moscow for talks about natural gas deliveries

by   CIJ iDesk I
2019-06-07   09:37
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Slovak PM Peter Pellegrini was in Moscow this week for talks with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, over the fate of Russian gas deliveries that pass through Slovakia. The business depends on a transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine signed for ten years in 2009 that the two countries have not managed to renew. Medvedev told Pellegrini that there would be another opportunity for the deal with Ukraine to be signed in September and October and that if this didn't happen, Slovakia could potentially be involved in the Turkstream pipeline project. Russia is currently building the underwater Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will double the capacity of direct natural gas deliveries to the European Union. Medvedev said he understood Slovak concerns that they could potentially lose out on profits from the transit business, if the deal with Ukraine isn't extended as well as its concerns of being cut off from natural gas supplies.