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The Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague has accepted the lawsuit lodged by the national oil and gas holding Naftogaz of Ukraine against the Russian Federation in the case related to Naftogaz losses of assets in occupied Crimea in 2014, according to the court's website.
Naftogaz of Ukraine in its claim refers to the rules of the Agreement between the Governments of Russia and Ukraine on the protection of investments, which was signed on November 27, 1998, as well as the rules that were adopted by the UN Commission on International Trade Law in 1976.
As UNIAN reported earlier, as a result of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Naftogaz's subsidiary Chernomorneftegaz lost its main assets (in particular, Petro Hodovanets and Ukraina drilling platforms), as well as access to natural gas deposits in the Black Sea offshore.
Read alsoNaftogaz to raise claims against GazpromAccording to Naftogaz's report for 2014, the value of assets lost in Crimea was estimated at UAH 13.8 billion, or US$535.3 million.
In September 2016, Ukraine initiated arbitration proceedings to protect its rights as a coastal state in the marine areas in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, adjacent to Crimea.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Olena Zerkal said then that Ukraine had filed a lawsuit against Russia to force the aggressor country to compensate for the losses incurred from the extraction of Ukrainian resources (oil and gas) on the shelf of the Azov and Black Seas, as well as the environmental consequences of economic activities of Russian companies.
As reported in mid-January 2017, Naftogaz purchased legal services for $6.3 million to defend its position on the suit.