Russia: Gazprom calls for cancelation of Ukrainian fine

Russia’s Gazprom has called for the cancelation of a US$6.7 billion fine imposed on the company by Ukraine in 2016 for Gazprom’s alleged abuse of its monopoly position on the Ukrainian market.

In a statement Wednesday, November 6, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller was quoted as saying that all legal disputes with Ukraine must be settled before a new transit deal could be agreed, referring specifically to the antitrust penalty for the first time.

“Before concluding a new transit contract, it is necessary to solve a set of fundamentally important issues,” Miller told Georg Graf Waldersee, Germany’s government commissioner for Ukrainian gas transit.

“The first is the settlement of legal disputes between Gazprom and the Ukrainian side,” he said, referring to the numerous claims and counterclaims over the 10-year gas supply and transit agreement that expires at the end of the year.

“It is also about canceling the decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine on imposing a fine on Gazprom for alleged abuse of monopoly status on the gas transit market of Ukraine and restoring the company’s property rights in the country,” he said.

Full Content: SP Global

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