KIEV, October 28 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz will pay some $500 million for natural gas from Russian energy giant Gazprom for October, the ex-Soviet state's acting finance minister said on Wednesday.
Ihor Umanskiy said with four days left until the end of the month, it was too early to announce the exact amount for October but added that it could be "approximately $500 million."
Naftogaz rejected on Monday reports of gas payment problems, saying it would pay for Russian natural gas supplied in October on time and in full.
A source in Naftogaz earlier on Monday quoted its CEO Oleh Dubyna as saying at a meeting with Gazprom head Alexei Miller on Thursday that it was increasingly difficult for the Ukrainian energy company to make gas payments and it could be problematic for it to pay for natural gas supplied in October.
Naftogaz paid for Russian natural gas deliveries in September on time and in full, largely using borrowed funds.
Russia, which supplies around one fifth of Europe's gas, briefly shut down supplies via Ukraine's pipeline system at the start of the year during a dispute with Kiev over unpaid debt.
The conflict was resolved in January, when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Tymoshenko, agreed deals on deliveries to and gas transit through Ukraine for 2009.
