Stockholm arbitration's preliminary ruling in dispute with Naftogaz favorable for Gazprom
Gazprom considers the Stockholm arbitration tribunal's preliminary ruling in a dispute with Ukraine's Naftogaz to be favorable.
"Have you read the ruling? I have and the balance according to this ruling is positive for Gazprom," the Russian gas giant's deputy CEO, Alexander Medvedev, told reporters.
He denied a claim by Ukraine that the tribunal had canceled the gas contract's so-called "take or pay" clause, which was the foundation for the bulk of Gazprom's claims.
"I will just touch on one issue. [The Ukrainian side claims that] the arbitration decision cancels take or pay. This is not so. It did not cancel take or pay. I will not tell you what in fact is there, but there is no cancellation of take or pay," he said.
"This is such a public manipulation. Work is underway. We have always respected and do respect arbitration decisions. There is time for discussing the preliminary conclusions, I think. The Ukrainian side will also provide some comments," Medvedev said.
Commenting on when the final ruling is expected, he said: "June 30 is the date for submitting objections and comments. This does not mean that the final conclusion will come immediately after June 30. All the more so, as you are aware, the tribunal can frequently shift the date for announcing a ruling, as a rule not sooner but later. It is a complex issue. It demands serious work."
