Russia and Ukraine are abiding by the gas agreement that the European Union helped to broker - the so-called winter package, European Commissioner for Energy Union Maros Sefcovic said.

Ukraine prepaid for Russian gas in winter, which is important in and of itself, Sefcovic said at a press conference following a meeting of the EU Council at the level of energy ministers on Tuesday.

Ukraine began receiving natural gas from Russia on Tuesday, December 9.

Ukraine is complying with the agreement in terms of payment and Russia in terms of price and the delivery schedule, Sefcovic said.

The winter package should address all issues in gas relations between Russia and Ukraine until the end of March, he said.

The winter package is a very good agreement that meets European standards, he said, adding that it was the result of talks held in good faith. The talks were difficult to start with and the initial positions were far apart, but, both sides have complied with the agreement since it was signed.

Sefcovic expressed the hope that subsequent talks would bring a complete normalization of gas relations between Russia and Ukraine.