MOSCOW, Oct. 24 - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the EU bloc’s leaders on Thursday that the EU’s executive body could give Ukraine a maximum $1 billion (EUR 790 million) in the near term out of its budget to help Kiev pay its gas bills, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

The money could be made available to Ukraine quickly in order to help Kiev settle a gas bill to Russia that would allow Ukraine to start receiving gas from Russian energy company OAO Gazprom again, according to several officials briefed on discussions.

In the early hours of Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that Ukraine would need some kind of bridge loan to pay its gas bill but that the issue wasn't resolved yet.