China and Russia may break the stalemate on a gas supply agreement before May this year, Beijing Business Today reported Monday, citing a statement made by Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

Price remains the last obstacle before the two countries ink a natural gas supply deal after negotiations that have lasted 15 years, said the report.

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said that China is thirsty for gas to help combat air pollution while Russia has seen its gas exports affected by the shale gas revolution in the US, creating a common ground for the two sides to come to a gas supply agreement.

(globaltimes.cn Feb 10, 2014)