"Statements that Russia and Ukraine have reached a preliminary agreement on gas transit are not true", Naftogaz wrote on Twitter.
No deal on Russian gas transit through Ukraine after 2019 has been agreed. The parties continue negotiations at the level of experts as well as in the trilateral format mediated by the European Commission. Naftogaz will inform about any agreements reached through official sources
— Naftogaz of Ukraine (@NaftogazUkraine) December 16, 2019
Meanwhile, Naftogaz Executive Director Yuriy Vitrenko said on 13 December, following talks with Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, that the countries had preliminarily agreed on gas transit after the current contract expires at the end of the year. He said that discussions continued, as there was no final deal yet.
At the same time, Gazprom said it was waiting for Ukraine's position regarding its readiness to directly purchase Russian gas beginning in 2020. In return, Naftogaz said that Kiev would not withdraw its lawsuits against Russia's Gazprom lodged in international arbitration courts unless it could reach a gas transit and delivery deal with Russia. It also confirmed its readiness to consider Gazprom's proposals on the return of $3 billion in debt and discuss compensation so that Kiev would not proceed with an additional $12.2 billion lawsuit.
