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Chief Commercial Officer of national oil and gas holding Naftogaz of Ukraine Yuriy Vitrenko says Naftogaz will not give up its claims and will not withdraw lawsuits against Russia's Gazprom lodged with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
"No one is going to withdraw any claims and drop absolutely justified lawsuits against Gazprom. Our claim in Stockholm Arbitration under the gas purchase and sale contract was recognized justified, and our demands were satisfied. Although we were told we had no chance and would lose. Our lawsuit over transit is no less justified," he wrote on Facebook, responding to a statement by Russia's foreign ministry that Russian gas transit shipments will continue going via Ukraine only if competitive transit tariffs are provided and the claims against Gazprom are withdrawn.
"We've won one lawsuit and we expect to win the other one. So we are not going to withdraw our claims," Vitrenko noted.
Read alsoRussian gas transit via Ukraine deterrent against Moscow’s aggression - NaftogazAccording to the top manager, one should also not believe the Russian statements that gas transit shipments, including through Ukraine, will not be stopped after the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline bypassing Ukraine.
"Such statements cannot be trusted. Last time we were assured that the launch of Nord Stream 1 would not lead to a decrease in [gas] transit via Ukraine. But they lied," Vitrenko said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Naftogaz on May 31, 2017, received a separate ruling of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in the framework of a lawsuit filed by the Ukrainian company against Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom related to the gas purchase contract.
Read alsoNaftogaz finds new gas suppliers from EuropeThe Arbitration Institute satisfied Naftogaz's claim to review the price under the 2009 gas purchase contract with Gazprom retroactively from 2014, taking into account market conditions.
Also, there was a separate ruling to cancel Gazprom's "take-or-pay" rule, according to which Ukraine was either to buy 52 billion cubic meters of gas every year or pay the price of it even if not the entire contracted volume was bought. In addition, Gazprom's ban on gas resale was lifted.
UNIAN memo. The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has been considering the claims filed by Naftogaz on behalf of Ukraine against Russia's Gazprom regarding the transit of Russian gas to the EU through Ukraine and the purchase of Russian gas by Ukraine.
According to Naftogaz, the amount of its claims against Gazprom under the gas purchase contract was $30.3 billion as of May 29, 2017, of which $14.1 billion was required for revision of the price for gas consumed by Ukraine in 2011-2015. Those from Gazprom against Naftogaz totaled $47.1 billion, of which $34.45 billion was related to Gazprom's "take-or-pay" sanction.