Gazprom is forced to immediately begin in Stockholm Arbitration the procedure for the termination of contracts with Naftogaz of Ukraine for the supply and transit of gas, said the chairman of the Russian company, Alexei Miller, on Friday.
According to him, the Stockholm Arbitration, "guided by double standards," adopted an "asymmetric decision" in the dispute between Gazprom and Naftogaz about contracts for the supply and transit of gas from the NAC. The decision, which the arbiters argued for a sharp deterioration in the state of the Ukrainian economy, significantly violated the balance of interests of the parties under these contracts, Miller said.
"We are categorically opposed to Ukraine's economic problems being solved at our expense," he said. The continuation of contracts for Gazprom is economically inexpedient and unprofitable, he stated.
The contract for gas transit of the company was concluded in 2009. According to him, the cost of transit is $ 2.35 billion per year. "Gazprom" committed to transfer "Naftogaz" for transit of at least 110 billion cubic meters. m of gas per year. But in eight years I have never pumped so much.
The Stockholm arbitration on February 28 ruled that during this time the Ukrainian company received less than $ 4.63 billion for transit. Gazprom was ordered to pay this amount to the Ukrainian side. In addition, Gazprom was ordered to pay 110 billion cubic meters for transit over the territory of Ukraine. m of gas annually, said the predecessor of "Naftogaz" Andrei Kobolev.
Before that, the arbitration ruled in favor of Gazprom under the gas supply contract, and taking into account this, the amount that the Russian company must pay to Naftogaz fell to $ 2.56 billion. Gazprom did not agree with the arbitration decision. On March 1, the company reported that it received money from Naftogaz for gas supplies in March, but immediately returned them and refused to begin deliveries. The decision was made because of the lack of an additional agreement to the current contract with Naftogaz for the supply of gas, which has not yet been agreed, explained Alexander Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee.
The European Commission on Friday expressed concerns about the fate of gas transit to the EU via Ukraine. She urged all parties to find an immediate solution in accordance with the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration.