Gazprom paid Ukraine billions lost in Stockholm arbitration
Gazprom paid Ukraine $2,9 billion according to the decision of the Stockholm court, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This was stated by an official representative of Gazprom, TASS reports with reference to the press service of the Russian monopolist.
It is reported that the debt payment was made within the period stipulated by the protocol of December 20, drawn up following the negotiations between Gazprom and Naftogaz.
Let us recall that earlier Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government Dmitry Kozak, in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel, stated that Gazprom’s payment of $2,9 billion to Ukraine as part of the execution of the Stockholm arbitration decision is a “drop in the bucket” compared to the potential risks for Russia in case of failure to comply with the arbitration decision, which ordered Russia to pay the debt of the Ukrainian company.
“Neither Ukraine nor we can predict how much someone won. We can definitely say that the $2,9 billion that we will pay to enforce the court decision that has already entered into force is a drop in the bucket compared to the claims and potential risks that could exist for Russia. These amounts would be much higher,” Kozak said.
Let us recall that in December 2017 and February 2018, the Stockholm Arbitration Court made decisions on disputes between Gazprom and Naftogaz regarding contracts for the supply and transit of gas. The arbitrators counted the counterclaims and ruled that Gazprom must pay the Ukrainian company $2,56 billion. Subsequently, this amount increased due to interest. The Russian company tried to challenge the decision, but on November 27, the Svea County Court finally rejected the appeal.
The payment of Gazprom's debt is part of a deal to resolve gas transit issues through Ukraine. According to the cooperation protocol dated December 20, in order to continue transit, Gazprom will conclude an inter-operator agreement with the Ukrainian GTS Operator, and with Naftogaz an agreement on the reservation of transportation capacities.
It is expected that next year transit will amount to 65 billion cubic meters of gas, and in 2021-2024 - 40 billion cubic meters each when a competitive tariff is established.
As for legal and antimonopoly claims, they must be resolved before December 29. The Ukrainian government must sign a settlement agreement with Gazprom to remove antitrust claims.
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