Reuters reveals Russia wants short-term gas deal with Ukraine before bypass routes complete

Reuters exclusively reported that Russia wants to strike a short-term deal with Kiev on gas transit to Europe when the current 10-year agreement expires in order to buy time to complete pipelines that will bypass Ukraine. Moscow’s stance is far removed from what Kiev and its European allies want and the lack of progress in talks has spurred market jitters, with Europe stockpiling gas to guard against possible disruption of supplies in the peak of winter.