The trilateral gas talks in the EU-Russia-Ukraine format at the expert level will start next week, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, a representative of the European Commission (EC) told TASS on Wednesday.

"The senior expert level talks are meant to be starting next week," she said.

"No definite date fixed yet," she added.

In 2009, Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine signed two contracts - the contract for the supply of Russian gas to Ukraine and the contract on gas transit through Ukraine to Europe. These contracts expire in 2019.

The transit of Russian gas after 2019 is now discussed in the context of the planned construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany, which will bypass the transit states.