Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that analyzing the Stockholm arbitration's rulings on the gas dispute with Ukraine was pointless, while it was necessary to implement the rulings even despite the fact that politics had played a certain role
GORKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd December, 2019) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that analyzing the Stockholm arbitration's rulings on the gas dispute with Ukraine was pointless, while it was necessary to implement the rulings even despite the fact that politics had played a certain role.
Russia and Ukraine signed on December 20 a gas cooperation protocol, under which Gazprom and Naftogaz will then sign a deal on continuing Russian gas transit through Ukraine and settle their disputes. Gazprom will pay to the Ukrainian company $2.9 billion under the ruling of the Stockholm arbitration, the parties will withdraw claims on which no final verdict has been issued, and Ukraine will also drop its $7.4 billion anti-monopoly claims against Gazprom.
"Analyzing how this or that court ruling has been made is now pointless. We assume that these are court rulings made by the Stockhom arbitration, which was empowered at that time. Meanwhile, it is absolutely obvious that politics has played a certain role in making these decisions, which has been fixed in the text [of the court ruling] itself. However, this is a decision of a competent court, and therefore it should be implemented," Medvedev said at a meeting with Russian deputy prime ministers.
He expressed hope that the court ruling, which can be made in the dispute about Russia's $3 billion loan for Ukraine, would be implemented as well.
Moscow filed a lawsuit against Kiev in February 2016 after Ukraine defaulted on paying off the $3 billion loan by the December 31, 2015 deadline. The loan was granted to Ukraine in late 2013 under then-president Viktor Yanukovych.
