Ukraine Files Lawsuit against Gazprom

Ukraine Files Lawsuit against Gazprom

The Government of Ukraine and NJSC Naftogaz decided to submit a lawsuit against the Russian company Gazprom. Prearbitral note has been sent to Gazprom, Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk informed at a press conference on Monday, April 28.

He said that the issue on further bilateral relations with Russian Gazprom was discussed at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

“Within 30 days, in accordance with the provisions of the contract, the Russian monopoly must give a clear response on several issues,” the Prime Minister emphasized. The first of these – the problem of gas price, “We are insisting that the price set for Ukraine from the beginning of this year is the market one, and we are maintaining the price of natural gas at this level.”

Arseniy Yatsenyuk recalled the position of the state company Naftogaz of Ukraine on the issue: “We have already sent a number of statements to the Russian monopolist Gazprom expressing our readiness to pay for Russian natural gas at the price that has been set from the beginning of 2014, namely, $268 per 1,000 cubic meters.”

“If the Russian company Gazprom gives an affirmative response to maintaining the price that has been set from the start of this year, and signs a respective agreement, then Ukraine will immediately repay $2.2 billion in debt, which was basically formed by the previous government,” the Prime Minister stressed.

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Russian monopolist must also answer the problem concerning provisions of the gas contract: “Ukraine calls for an urgent reconsideration of these provisions.”

The Ukrainian side offers Russian Gazprom “to hold a meeting on the neutral territory – not in Moscow, but in London – in order to discuss a predarbitral claim of the Ukrainian side.”

If, within 30 days, respective agreements are not reached, “it means that we are moving from the predarbitral settlement to litigation dispute with the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom, the Prime Minister said.

“We believe our position as a legitimate and strong. The Ukrainian government has clearly declared: we will fight for our national rights and national interests by all legal means. The main legal method is a court in Stockholm,” said Arseniy Yatsenyuk. – The Russian monopolist can avoid consideration of this litigation in Stockholm when it accepts the conditions laid down by the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian business NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine. According to him, the Ukrainian side awaits an official response from Gazprom.

[mappress]
Press Release, April 29, 2014; Image: kmu.gov.ua