Russia, Ukraine May Continue Gas Talks On Tuesday: Gazprom

[June 03, 2014]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine could continue gas talks on Tuesday, a spokesman for Russian exporter Gazprom said, adding that he hoped a mutually beneficial agreement would be found.

"Talks went for a long time yesterday ... There is an understanding on how to move forward - this is very important," Sergei Kupriyanov told a briefing.

He added that Ukraine has now to repay debt of $1.45 billion for gas delivered in November and December last year.

Late on Monday, after some six hours of talks brokered by the European Commission, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the chief executives of Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz had agreed to consider a plan that could avoid price disputes recurring over the European winter when demand peaks.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin,; Writing by Katya Golubkova, Editing by Timothy heritage)

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