UPDATE 2-Gazprom to cut gas flows to Poland for maintenance

* Gazprom to stop flows for 40 hours starting from Tuesday

* Gazprom and Polish PGNiG are in talks over gas price (Adds PGNiG comments)

By Vladimir Soldatkin

MOSCOW, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom will halt natural gas supplies via Yamal-Europe, the main fuel trunk line for Poland, for almost two days starting from Tuesday for pipeline maintenance, the group said on Monday.

The announcement came against the background of negotiations on gas prices between Gazprom and Polish gas monopoly PGNiG, which has been seeking a lower price for Russian gas.

Last year, Gazprom supplied more than 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas to Poland, which meets more than half of its gas needs with imports from Russia.

"The (maintenance) works had been envisaged and agreed by all the sides involved at the end of 2011," Gazprom said in a statement.

The company added it would increase supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline, which runs under the Baltic Sea to Germany, to compensate for lost volumes.

PGNiG said Gazprom had informed it at the end of June about the maintenance and its customers would not suffer from the works.

"Such maintenance is conducted every year ... Gas supplies from the eastern direction will be received in planned amounts. All PGNiG customers are receiving gas in line with their orders," PGNiG's spokeswoman said in an e-mailed comment.

Gazprom, which supplies over a quarter of Europe's gas needs, plans to export 150 bcm of gas to the EU this year, unchanged from the 2011 volumes.

The 2,000 km (1,250 mile) Yamal-Europe line carries gas from the Arctic Yamal peninsula via Belarus to Poland and terminates in Germany near the German-Polish border. (Additional reporting by Karolina Slowikowska and Maciej Onoszko in Warsaw; Editing by Douglas Busvine)