Gazprom has avoided another energy standoff with Ukraine by reaching a deal on repayment terms for the $2bn debt Moscow says it is owed for natural gas shipments to Kiev.

The agreement, signed during a trip to Russia’s capital by Viktor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s outgoing – and Moscow-friendly - prime minister, aimed to avoid a repeat of the 2006 pricing dispute which saw Gazprom cut shipments to Ukraine, triggering supply shortages in Europe.