MINSK, May 30. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine said it had transferred the payment for part of its gas debt to Russia, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.

“Talks are underway (in Berlin), so far there is no visible progress, but our Ukrainian partners said they had transferred a part of the sum (Ukraine owes Russia for gas supplies),” Medvedev said. “However, liabilities are considered discharged not at the moment of money transfer but at the moment of its passing to the account of the creditor, that is to the Gazprom account."

“When Gazprom receives the money, we will see it, and that will be a different story. But today we must make sure that Ukraine is willing to pay,” he stressed. “Any other presentation of the problem is impossible: when I hear them saying ‘give us other price and then we will pay,’ I think that’s preposterous, reliable partners do not behave that way, and even less reliable partners never do that.”

He said he hoped Ukraine would finally pay what it owed for the Russian gas.