EU energy chief to meet Russian officials in Brussels

A technical meeting with the EU's chief energy official to plan for the Russia-Ukraine energy talks to be mediated by the EU will take place Thursday in Brussels, the EU said in a statement. Gunther Oettinger will hold a meeting with Ukrainian Energy Minister Prodan in Baku on the margin of the informal Eastern partnership dialog meeting on September 8. "It is after this meeting that the EU, Ukraine and Russia will agree on a date and location for the next trilateral gas talks. This could take place mid-September", said the statement. On Friday, Oettinger talked to his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak in Moscow and warned Russia from straining energy relations between the EU and Russia, in the event of Moscow's failure to ensure that the EU receive an uninterrupted gas supply.