KIEV, Oct. 19 - Ukraine will save $29 mln after reaching a natural gas settlement agreement with Turkmenistan last week, Oleksiy Ivchenko, the head of Naftogaz Ukrayiny, the national oil and gas company, said.

Ivchenko defended the agreement as a major achievement amid speculations that he may be fired by Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov for delays in debt settlement with Turkmenistan.