Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz said on Tuesday it had started paying off outstanding debts for Russian gas supplies and hoped all arrears would be settled within hours.
“We have started the procedure of paying off debts for November-December and hope to complete it within a few hours,” a spokesman for the company told Reuters by telephone.
A government order made public earlier said it had authorised Naftogaz to borrow up to $2 billion from state banks to settle outstanding debts as talks on 2009 gas supplies and prices proceeded in Moscow. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, writing by Ron Popeski)
