Gas talks between EC and Russia. lack sense of urgency as winter approaches

The rules of the game make Yuriy Barsukov, the business department analyst, chill.

The gas talks between Russia and the EU are increasingly beginning to resemble the fantasy of George R.R. Martin: although it was initially clear that "winter is coming", the heroes of the saga do not do anything,they just do not prepare for it, and it gradually gives rise to some anxiety in even the most cold-blooded readers. So, yesterday it was announced that a new meeting of the representatives of Russia and the EU is not assigned so far, although half of September has passed, and six months since the beginning of the Ukrainian gas crisis in mid-March. For the last three months Ukraine has not received any Russian gas: as "the Kommersant" predicted, no interruptions in the summer happened, in fact, the Ukrainians have been extremely successful in filling the gas storage facilities. Now the Ukrainian underground gas storages have 16.3 billion cubic meters of gas, and with the help of reverse gas supplies from Slovakia the storages are replenished by an average of 34 million cubic meters per day since early September. This means that by October there will be about 17 billion cubic meters in them, which is the minimum required amount to pass the winter, and all that - without the participation of "Gazprom".