Russian state gas giant Gazprom is awaiting the formation of a Ukrainian government before starting talks with Kyiv on extending a deal to transit Russian gas across Ukraine to Europe, a senior company official said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

More than a third of Russia’s gas exports to the European Union cross Ukraine, providing Kyiv with valuable income. The current deal between Moscow on gas supplies and transit expires after Dec 31 this year, Reuters recalls. Europe, where Gazprom has a 36% gas market share, is closely following talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Some European countries, such as Bulgaria, are completely dependent on Russian gas to heat their homes in winter. “We understand that there is quite a difficult political situation in Ukraine today. We understand that a new government should be appointed, changes in the parliament should take place,” Svetlana Burmistrova, the head of Gazprom’s exporting arm, Gazprom Export, told reporters.