The FINANCIAL -- According to RIA Novosti, Russian energy giant Gazprom confirmed on November 9 that Ukraine 's Naftogaz had paid in full for Russian natural gas supplies in October.

"Naftogaz has paid in full for gas supplies in October," a Gazprom spokesman said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on November 6 that Ukraine had paid the $500 million bill, but the information was not immediately confirmed by Gazprom.

Bohdan Sokolovskyi, a Ukrainian presidential envoy for international energy security, said the cash-strapped ex-Soviet state had converted its special drawing rights (SDRs) into dollars to make the payment.

The European Commission signaled on November 6 that it wants confirmation of Ukraine 's gas payment for October, according to Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen, a European Commission deputy spokesperson.

In late October, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned against possible problems with Kiev 's payment for gas, saying they could cause 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.

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