国际英语新闻:Russia, Ukraine clinch gas transit extension deal

MOSCOW, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Ukraine have signed a package of documents extending Russian gas transit to Europe via Ukraine for five more years, Russia's gas giant Gazprom said in a statement late Monday.

"After five days of continuous bilateral negotiations in Vienna, final decisions were made and final agreements reached," Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said.

Under the agreement, Russia will ship through the Ukrainian gas transport system a total volume of 225 billion cubic meters of gas in the next five years, including 65 billion cubic meters in 2020 and an average of 40 billion cubic meters each year in 2021-2024.

The current contract for the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine expires at the end of Tuesday.