KIEV, November 6 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's Naftogaz has paid Gazprom in full for Russian gas deliveries in October, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Friday.
"Today, we have paid Russia another $500 million," the Ukrainian government quoted Tymoshenko as saying.
However, she complained about difficulties in making the payment, referring to "a complete blockade" on the part of the national bank and the president, with local gas consumers providing just 50%-60% of payment.
Gazprom has not so far confirmed Naftogaz's payment for October.
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.
Hansen denied that Kiev had turned to the European Union for financial assistance in paying for Russian gas supplies.
Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Sunday briefed his Swedish counterpart, the current EU president, Fredrik Reinfeldt, about possible problems with Ukrainian payment for Russian gas and its transit to European consumers.
Putin warned that payment problems could lead to 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
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Friday he hoped Russia and Ukraine would resolve gas issues on their own without EU mediation.
A source in the European Commission said on Friday that Ukraine had reported 25 billion cubic meters of natural gas in its storage facilities, which Kiev said would be enough for the uninterrupted transit of Russian natural gas to Europe in the winter.
