By Alastair Macdonald and Katya Golubkova
BRUSSELS/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine have agreed to discuss a "summer package" of gas supplies late this month, with Kiev winning an assurance at Monday's EU-mediated talks in Brussels that it would not pay for energy delivered to rebel-held areas.
A "winter package" of Russian gas for Ukraine, brokered and part-financed by the European Union, runs out at the end of the month and EU officials have been trying to help Kiev arrange summer supplies from Moscow with the two sides locked in conflict over the pro-Russian revolt in eastern Ukraine.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in comments from Brussels broadcast on state television: ?We agreed to discuss supplies during the summer, issues related to gas injection into underground storages, at the end of March.?
Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz said in a statement: "The parties confirmed that for the purposes of accounting for the 'winter package', only those volumes of gas delivered through gas reception points agreed with Ukrtransgaz would be counted."
Novak made similar comments in reference to Ukrainian complaints that Russia's Gazprom was delivering gas to rebel-held areas and under-supplying Kiev under the terms of the winter package.
Before the talks Novak had rebuffed Ukrainian accusations that Gazprom was holding back on deliveries and warned that Kiev's credit under the four-month winter deal could run out this week.
Previous "gas wars" between the ex-Soviet neighbours have seen supplies disrupted not only to Ukraine but beyond into the European Union, which obtains nearly a third of its natural gas from Russia, half of that delivered by pipelines across Ukraine.
However, despite a warning last week from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine's chaotic finances might cause energy shortages across Europe, analysts have played down the risks of disruption going into summer.
Novak said Ukraine's credit may last only to the end of the week - if it keeps its demand low at about 10 million cubic metres a day. Ukrainian gas transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said it ordered that amount on Sunday but received only 5.8 million cubic metres.
Moscow cut off supplies to Kiev in June and restored them in December in a dispute over pricing and unpaid bills.
Gazprom last week warned that it could stop supplies in March if Ukraine did not pay more up front.
Naftogaz said on Friday that it sent a small prepayment of $15 million to Russia "to calm the nerves" of EU neighbours worried about disruption to transit supplies.
(Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; Editing by William Hardy and David Goodman)
