"We are now waiting for Gazprom's response, because we have sent a letter providing our answers to previously held talks and their wishes and requests submitted in writing after the talks. We expect to have those answers (from Gazprom) in the near future. Our aim is to negotiate a fairer price, which means a lower gas price for Lithuania," Butkevičius said on LRT Radio.
"We continue the negotiations despite the start of the heating season. We hope that common sense will prevail, because we can see from an analysis performed that natural gas is sold to other countries at lower prices," he added.
Lithuania sent its latest negotiating proposals to Gazprom on September 25. Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovič, the head of Lithuania's negotiation team, said earlier that Lithuania and Gazprom had not come to an agreement yet.
Unofficial sources said in early August that in exchange for cheaper gas from Gazprom, Lithuania might drop its lawsuits asking for a probe into the activities of Lietuvos Dujos (Lithuanian Gas) and its management, as well as a 5-billion-litas (EUR 1.45bn) arbitration claim filed in Stockholm against the Russian supplier.
The sources also said that, depending on the size of discounts, Lithuania could also agree to a new long-term gas supply contract for 2013-2020 and a standalone agreement regulating the transit of gas to Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad.
