Russia's top natural gas producer Gazprom said on Friday it has reached an agreement with Kiev on the prepayment of gas purchases and will resume supplies to Ukraine on October 12, once the payments are made. Alexei Miller, the head of Gazprom, also said Ukraine's energy firm Naftogaz had requested to buy 2 billion cubic meters of Russian gas this month, Reuters reported. "Agreements have been reached just now with NAK Naftogaz of Ukraine about forward payments for gas in October," Miller said. Gazprom halted gas supplies to Ukraine in July after Kiev failed to make prepayments for purchases. Last month, Russia and Ukraine signed a tentative deal on a so-called "winter package", agreeing to technical details. It was not immediately clear if the deal had been agreed in full. Naftogaz declined immediate comment. Moscow and Kiev signed a 10-year gas supply deal in 2009, but Russia has twice halted gas flows to its neighbor due to price disagreements and Naftogaz's debts.
