Andrey Zhukau, an aide to Belarus' energy minister, says Minsk has good hopes of reaching a deal with Russia's state-run gas monopoly, Gazprom.
The gas giant is threatening to cut gas supplies to Belarus on January 1 if Minsk doesn't meet the new rate of $105 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas -- more than twice what Belarus currently pays.
Belarus has said it will siphon off Russian gas bound to Europe in the event of a gas shutoff.
(Reuters, AFP, ITAR-TASS)