The lawsuits that Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom have filed against each other in Stockholm arbitration court have been combined into one case, Naftogaz chief Andriy Kobolev said.
“I can now say that they [the lawsuits] have been combined, which
will certainly speed the start to hearings in the case,” Kobolev said on
the Svoboda Slova program on ICTV on Friday evening, July 25.
The arbitrator selection procedures now underway should be completed
soon, at which point the case will be handed over for examination.
Stockholm arbitration might issue a preliminary ruling before the
coming winter, Kobolev said, without specifying what the decision might
be or what Naftogaz was aiming for.
“Only an interim decision is possible before winter. What that
interim decision might be will depend on the tactics we pursue. There
are several options that have been worked out and analyzed in detail by
our legal experts and by the Justice Ministry,” he said.
“I hope that some time in September we will be able to officially say
in the news what progress there is, because at the moment we are not
free to disclose information concerning the lawsuit,” he said.
As reported, from April 2014 Russia increased the price of gas for
Ukraine from $268.50 to $485.50 pre 1,000 cubic meters. Ukraine said
that the country will not pay at such a high price. After negotiations
between Ukraine and Russia failed to reach a compromise, both sides
filed reciprocal lawsuits in Stockholm arbitration.
Naftogaz Ukrainy is demanding that a fair price be set for the gas
that Gazprom supplies to Ukraine. Ukraine also demanded that $6 billion
in overcharges for the gas which Gazprom has been exporting to Naftogaz
since 2010, be repaid.
Gazprom is demanding the payment of $4.5 million in debts for gas already delivered.
