KYIV, Oct. 27 - Russia and Ukraine will hold talks on Monday over a contract to move Russian natural gas to markets in the European Union via Ukrainian pipelines following ‘constructive’ meeting last month.

The talks, which will be held in Brussels, will be joined by a top European Union energy official, underscoring importance for energy security in the region.

Maros Sefcovic will separately meet the teams from Naftogaz Ukrayiny, the national energy company, and the Russian gas company Gazprom, before the talks to ensure progress is made.

A failure to reach the progress and negotiate a new deal may trigger disruption in gas supplies between Russia and the EU after the current 10-yeare gas transit contract expires on December 31.

There are a number of obstacles to the new deal, such as a political row between Kyiv and Moscow, a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine, and litigation between Gazprom and Naftogaz.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel said last month there was still a risk Russian gas deliveries could be interrupted and Kyiv would make the necessary preparations to ensure continued supply in such a scenario.

Ukrainian energy authorities are worried Moscow could stop gas supplies through Ukraine, leaving some parts of the country without gas in winter.

Moscow is building new pipelines to Europe, such as Nord Stream-2 and TurkStream, to bypass Ukraine, a main route of the Russian gas to Europe.

Last year, Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom supplied Europe with more than 200 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, of which 87 bcm went through Ukraine, providing Kyiv with valuable transit income.

Orzhel said Gazprom was seeking lower transit tariffs, which was possible if Moscow agreed to higher volumes.

His Russian counterpart, Energy Minister Alexander Novak, said he had proposed a temporary extension of the existing 10-year contract.

Ukraine is also working on changes to its energy regulations to bring them in line with EU laws. (nr/rt/ez)