Naftogaz not against Gazprom paying off US$3 bin in debt with gas supplies

Executive Director of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko says Naftogaz is ready to consider the possibility of paying off US$3 billion in debt by Russia's Gazprom following the Stockholm arbitration awards in the form of natural gas supplies.

"We also noted [in a letter of response] that we are ready to constructively consider Gazprom's offer to implement the decisions by the Stockholm Arbitration and the corresponding amicable agreement. Today, according to the final and binding awards of the Stockholm Arbitration ... Gazprom must pay Naftogaz approximately US$3 billion. We are satisfied with the money, but if Gazprom wants to repay the debt with gas, we are ready to consider such a proposal," he wrote on Facebook on November 25, commenting on Naftogaz's response to Gazprom's official proposal that transit contract should be concluded for one year only.

Read alsoNaftogaz officially responds to Gazprom's gas transit offer

At the same time, Naftogaz says the settlement of former and new disputes between the companies, the withdrawal of the claim from the antimonopoly authority of the European Union, and the settlement of the fine that the Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine imposed on Gazprom should not be set as a condition for the continuation of gas transit via Ukrainian territory. A new transit contract should be concluded in line with European rules and with an operator unbundled from Naftogaz. The contract should be fair and balanced as well, Vitrenko said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine has not imported gas from Russia since November 2015.

At the end of February 2018, Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom lost a lawsuit filed by Naftogaz with the Stockholm Arbitration over a gas transit contract. Gazprom was obliged to pay US$4.6 billion to the Ukrainian side.

At the same time, taking into account the arbitration award on the gas supply contract, the final amount of settlements between the two companies is US$2.6 billion in favor of Naftogaz.

In March 2018, Gazprom officially notified Naftogaz of their refusal to comply with the arbitration award. In late May, Naftogaz began the process of forcing the US$2.6 billion debt from Gazprom in foreign courts.

The recovery process is under way in England, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Among the assets of interest to the Ukrainian side are the shares of companies operating the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines.