BRUSSELS, Jumada II 1, 1436, Mar 21, 2015, SPA -- Ukraine is confident Russia will have to sharply lower the price it charges Kiev for gas as increased imports from the European Union have greatly reduced Ukraine's reliance on supplies from Gazprom, Reuters cited Ukraine's energy minister as saying on Saturday. Volodymyr Demchyshyn was speaking after gas supply talks in Brussels on Friday with Russia and the European Commission. As expected, the meeting stopped far short of a deal, but the three sides said the atmosphere was constructive and they would meet again next month. Under the current agreement, Ukraine pays $329 per thousand cubic metres for gas in the first quarter and Russia has said the price will rise to $348 after that. -- SPA 19:38 LOCAL TIME 16:38 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w