CARACAS, December 6. /TASS/. Russia and Pakistan are close to a tradeoff on North-South gas pipeline tariffs and the agreement will be signed by the end of this year, Deputy Energy Minister Yuri Sentyurin told TASS on Tuesday.

"According to my estimates, the parties are close to reaching the tradeoff by the year-end," Sentyurin said. "Commercial agreements for construction should be signed by the end of this year under the intergovernmental agreement," the official added.

The main point is to demonstrate that the declared tariff level is economically justified and makes possible to consider this project as feasible and profitable for those who will implement it, Sentyurin said.

"The Pakistani party is rigorous. Volume of process losses and volume of gas used for internal needs are analyzed. They are benchmarked against best world’s counterparts; technical base is analyzed," the official said. A special tariff committee comprising representatives of finance and justice ministries and other relevant authorities was set up on this occasion in Pakistan, Sentyurin said.

"The process is highly challenging," he added.