"An agreement has been reached under which Naftogaz will repay its debt for gas delivered in September and part of its debt for gas supplied in October by December 1," the company's press service said after talks between the parties.
The statement follows talks between Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and Naftogaz head Oleh Dubina.
Ukraine's debt stands at $2.4 billion, including fines and arrears, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered Gazprom last week to recover Ukraine's debt, stressing the importance of receiving full payment for gas supplies given financial pressure on Russia due to the credit crunch and falling oil prices.
Ukraine currently pays $179.5 per 1,000 cubic meters for gas imported from Russia or via Russian territory. "If we switch to free market relations in the sphere of gas supplies, the price for Ukraine could be more than $400 as of January 1, 2009," Miller told Medvedev last week.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Tymoshenko agreed at the start of October on a memorandum for direct gas supplies from Gazprom and Naftogaz with a gradual shift to market prices. The full repayment of Ukraine's gas debt was fixed as a condition.
Gas pricing and supply has been a thorny issue in recent years, triggering bitter rows between the two former Soviet republics.
A gas pricing row between the countries at the start of 2006 led to a brief cut in supplies to Ukraine, which also transits about 80% of Russia's Europe-bound gas. Some consumers in Europe reported a decline in supplies during the dispute.
