GORKI, April 14. /ITAR-TASS/. Gazprom’s contract on supplies of Russian gas to China would be finalized by the upcoming visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin, due in May, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said at a session chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.

“Talks on gas are nearing completion, and there is a general intent to finish that work before Russian president’s visit,” he said.

Gas deliveries were discussed by the inter-governmental energy commission last week, he said. “We have potentials many times higher (than the level of current cooperation), and we have agreed to employ these potentials in a number of areas, in oil and oil refining in particular,” Dvorkovich said. “The main decisions have been made, but both the Chinese partners and us have a bid to increase the amount of cooperation on certain directions, including on the structure of the financing of respective projects,” he said.

Dvorkovich said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin would continue consultations with China on broader cooperation on nuclear power engineering. “We have current projects, and also issues that are yet to be solved,” he added.