MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia said on Monday the situation with European countries that buy its gas through a transit deal via Ukraine was very complicated and needs more attention, a day after talks between President Vladimir Putin and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

A major contract governing the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine will come to end on January 1, with significant implications for Moscow’s exports to some European Union countries. “The end of the transit contract will mark an important shift because gas via Ukraine governed by the contract currently accounts for half of Russia’s remaining