BRUSSELS, July 17 (RIA Novosti) - Participants in Friday's international talks with Ukraine on providing the country with a loan for natural gas purchases are optimistic that a deal can be reached, Russia's envoy to the EU said.
Representatives of the European Commission, financial organizations, Ukraine, and Russia held the first of a series of meetings in Brussels earlier in the day, to discuss a loan to help Ukraine keep up with its gas payments, to prevent further disputes that could cause supply interruptions to Europe.
"Today everyone was optimistic, and time will tell what comes next," Vladimir Chizhov said after the talks.
At the meeting, the sides agreed to intensify negotiations on providing a loan to Ukraine, which is struggling to cope with the global economic crisis. Foreign banks have so far been reluctant to provide loans to Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz.
European Commission spokesman Mark Gray told reporters after the talks that the next meeting on the issue will be held next week in Kiev.
Ukraine is seeking a syndicated loan of over $4 billion from European banks to help pay its debts to Russian energy giant Gazprom until November 2009.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in early June it would be difficult for the EU to help Ukraine keep up with its payments.
Russia, which supplies around one quarter of Europe's gas, briefly shut down supplies via Ukraine's pipeline system at the start of the year during a dispute with Kiev over unpaid debt.
The conflict was resolved in January, when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, agreed deals on deliveries to and gas transit through Ukraine for 2009.
The ex-Soviet state transits around 80% of Russia's Europe-bound gas.
