Naftogaz CEO Rules Out Amicable Settlement With Gazprom at Stockholm Arbitration

The signing of an amicable settlement agreement between Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom in a case reviewed by the Stockholm Arbitration is impossible, the head of Ukraine's state-owned gas firm said Monday.

KIEV (Sputnik) — In June 2014, Gazprom switched Ukraine to a prepayment system for gas supplies over its massive gas debt. The same month, Naftogaz appealed to the Stockholm Arbitration, seeking a retroactive revision of its 2009-19 natural gas transit contract with Russia.

"There were no attempts to reach an amicable settlement, and I think that in this situation it is impossible because there is a huge difference between the positions assumed by both sides. This arbitration is so important politically that I would not expect any amicable settlement under any circumstances," Andriy Kobolev said in an interview with 3STV television.

The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce has recently begun hearings in a case pertaining the transit of Russian gas via Ukraine.