MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom confirmed on Friday that Ukraine had paid for Russian natural gas deliveries to the country for August.

"Ukraine's Naftogaz has fully paid for August gas deliveries," the gas giant's press service said.

Ukrainian acting Finance Minister Ihor Umanskiy said on Thursday Naftogaz had paid Gazprom $667 million for August gas.

So far this year, Ukraine has been meticulous in its Russian gas payments.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said in late August that Naftogaz and Gazprom were holding talks on a possible reduction in the volume of Russian gas to be purchased by Kiev in 2010.

Tymoshenko said Ukraine plans to buy around 25 billion cubic meters in 2010, half the agreed amount of gas stipulated in the 2009-2019 contract which the two state-owned gas giants signed in January.

Russia, which supplies around one quarter of Europe's gas, briefly shut down supplies via Ukraine's pipeline system at the start of the year during a dispute over Kiev's 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.

The ex-Soviet state transits around 80% of Russia's Europe-bound gas.