Russian energy giant Gazprom confirmed on Monday that Ukraine's
Naftogaz had paid in full for Russian natural gas supplies in October, according to RIA Novosti.
"Naftogaz has paid in full for gas supplies in October," a Gazprom spokesman said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Friday that
Ukraine had paid the $500 million bill, but the information was not
immediately confirmed by Gazprom.
Bohdan Sokolovskyi, a Ukrainian presidential envoy for international
energy security, said the cash-strapped ex-Soviet state had converted
its special drawing rights (SDRs) into dollars to make the payment.
The European Commission signaled on Friday that it wants
confirmation of Ukraine's gas payment for October, according to Pia
Ahrenkilde Hansen, a European Commission deputy spokesperson.
In late October, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned
against possible problems with Kiev's payment for gas, saying they
could cause difficulties for European consumers receiving Russian gas
via Ukraine.
A dispute between Moscow and Kiev at the start of the year over gas
debts and 2009 deliveries left millions of Europeans without gas in
January.
