KIEV, Oct. 19 - Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Tuesday he was hopeful of further lowering natural gas prices for Ukraine soon despite Russia’s original refusal to re-negotiate the 10-year gas agreement.

The comment comes ahead of Azarov’s meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin due in Kiev on October 27 as both plan to discuss the natural gas sector.

“We failed to revise the agreement,” Azarov said, according to the government’s press service. “They believe the agreement is extremely beneficial for them, which is suggesting that it is extremely unbeneficial for us.”