Berlin, Sep 26 (IANS): European Union (EU) Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Friday that Russia and Ukraine have reached an interim agreement on gas issues to secure gas supplies in Europe for the coming winter.

The EU, Ukraine and Russia held a trilateral ministerial meeting on energy security in Berlin Friday. The three sides were represented by Oettinger, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan respectively at the meeting, Xinhua reported.

Russia and Ukraine have reached a deal to secure gas supplies in Europe for the coming winter after intensive talks Friday, said Oettinger after the meeting at a press conference.

According to him, Ukraine has agreed to pay $3.1 billion to Russia by the end of this year. In return, Russia will provide 5 billion cubic metres of gas to Ukraine.

The trilateral talks will be continued next week, Oettinger said.

Ukraine and Russia have been embroiled in a standoff on gas pricing for a few months. In June, Russia cut all gas supplies to Ukraine as the two sides failed to reach an agreement on payments.