Poroshenko: Stockholm arbitration tribunal’s decision on the lawsuit of Naftogaz vs. Gazprom was a 'convincing victory'
President Petro Poroshenko considers the decision of the arbitral tribunal under the auspices of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce a victory in the lawsuit of Naftogaz Ukrainy against the Russian Gazprom under the gas supply contract. This was reported on the president's website.
"Our joint effort, made by NATO and legal representatives and the Foreign Ministry team, which also helped us a lot, together with the position of the President’s administration and the government, today allowed us to achieve this result. I congratulate you for this and congratulate all Ukrainian people. Finally, we defended the interests of the state, at least in the extremely important energy sphere," Poroshenko said at a meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Integration Olena Zerkal and the chairman of the board of Naftogaz, Andriy Kobolyev
"I can say that it is our convincing victory in defending the interests of Ukraine," the President added.
According to Poroshenko, this became possible because from the very beginning, the Ukrainian team "stood at a position with a convincing argument behind it that was supported by legal proof."
"First of all, [the arrangement] is an injustice and a "take-or-pay" condition is a non-market one,” the President stated.
"The second position, which I think is important, is that at last gas must cease to be an instrument of political pressure on Ukraine and a source of corruption deals for the representatives of the former Ukrainian government. Finally, the calculation of gas prices is market-based and this is also our unquestionable achievement," Poroshenko said.
The Stockholm arbitration fully satisfied Naftogaz’s claims against Russia's Gazprom under the contract for the supply of gas to Ukraine in 2009 under a take-or-pay condition. The ban on re-export of gas was also completely abolished. Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin called the decision "a victory over Russia's energy aggression."
In the meantime, Gazprom considers a preliminary decision of the Stockholm Arbitration as positive one for itself.