KIEV, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz has paid off more than 1 million U.S. dollars out of its 1.07 billion dollars of its gas import debts, Ukrainian presidential press service said on Thursday.

    Ukraine and Russia reached a deal on Tuesday to resolve the dispute over a gas debt during talks between Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, avoiding a threatened cutoff in gas supplies.

    The presidential press service said Naftogaz had paid the moneyto Ukrgazenergo, one of the intermediaries that gets the gas from Gazprom via another intermediary called RosUkrEnergo.

    Ukraine's Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan said that Naftogaz and Gazprom officials were now discussing how and exactly when the Ukrainian energy firm would repay in full the debt, accumulated since November last year.

    Russian gas monopoly Gazprom says Ukraine owes 1.5 billion U.S. dollars for gas supply. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko acknowledged Monday that Ukraine had a gas debt, but gave a figure of 1.07 billion dollars.

    The debt dispute had sent jitters through customers in Europe, who feared it could escalate into a repetition of a pricing row in2006 that led to supply disruptions across Europe after Gazprom cut all gas supplies to Ukraine, a major transit route.