The decision of the appellate court in Sweden to suspend the decision of the Stockholm arbitration on the claim of Naftgaz against Gazprom is fraught with serious consequences for Ukraine.
Ukrainian energy market expert Yuri Korolchuk writes about this in his blog, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the expert, this decision creates the preconditions for Gazprom’s counterclaim to terminate the agreement with Naftogaz, and will also call into question the continuation of transit through Ukraine after 2019, which jeopardizes the transfer of control of the Ukrainian gas transportation system to the Europeans.
“Partners with the EU participating in the “competition” to manage the GTS are already tense. It is known that some companies will suspend the active process of participation in the “competition”... There is a high probability of confirmation of information about manipulations during the trial in Stockholm. And this will cause irreparable damage to Ukraine’s reputation. You can’t hide this behind another mythical “victory,” writes Korolchuk.
He also notes that curators from the EU and the US will most likely demand criminal liability for the head of Naftogaz if he loses in arbitration.
Let us recall that earlier the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce decided that Gazprom violated the terms of the contract with Naftogaz for the supply of blue fuel to European countries and decided to pay compensation to Ukraine in the amount of 4,63 billion dollars