Natural gas deal "not yet" on agenda for Putin's China visit - official
MOSCOW. Oct 10 (Interfax) - The signing a natural gas trade agreement is "not yet" on the agenda of the planned visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to China on Tuesday and Wednesday, Yury Ushakov, deputy head of the Russian government's executive office, told reporters.
Ushakov added that the two countries are still in talks on the price of gas to be exported by Russia's Gazprom to China. The chief Russian negotiator is Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.
Gazprom and Chinese national oil and gas company CNPC have often reported progress in talks on the price that have spanned more than five years already. "With the price formula having been agreed, it remains a question what the point of departure of this formula will be," a Gazprom manager said recently.
