Putin and Zelensky discussed gas supplies to Ukraine over the phone

Presidents of Russia and Ukraine Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky held their first since the beginning of September telephone conversation . It discussed the return of the ships detained at Azov and the supply of gas, they specified in the apparatuses of both presidents .

The conversation took place at the initiative of Kyiv on the eve of the meeting on December 9 in Paris in the Normandy format. “Gas issues were discussed in detail, including the issues of continuing transit and resuming direct supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine,” the Kremlin described the content of the conversation.

Zelensky, according to his office, also demanded the return of all weapons and equipment that were missing when the ships returned. As the protection of the Ukrainian sailors clarified , the FSB seized the equipment last winter and attached it as material evidence. According to Zelensky, the restoration of military courts will take 3 months.

The current contract for gas transit through Ukraine ends on December 31. Gazprom, in order to extend it (or conclude a new one for a year), offered the Ukrainian Naftogaz to abandon lawsuits in international arbitration and return to buying gas directly without European intermediaries (after switching to the reverse scheme in November 2015).