MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/. Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Thursday it would seek to review a Swedish court of appeal’s decision to withdraw its earlier ruling to suspend the enforcement of Stockholm arbitration’s verdict regarding the Russian company’s transit contract with Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz.

"At the same time, today the Swedish court has satisfied a claim by Naftogaz Ukraine to cancel the decision to suspend the enforcement of the Stockholm Arbitration’s ruling. Gazprom is set to press for this decision to be reviewed," the company said.

Gazprom added that it would continue to defend its interests by all means possible under the existing legislation.

According to the company, earlier in the day a UK court cancelled the June 18, 2018 decision to arrest the company’s assets in England and Wales.

"The precondition for cancelling the decision was Gazprom’s obligation not to exclude Nord Stream AG shares pending the end of hearings in the UK court to acknowledge and enforce the Stockholm Arbitration’s February 28, 2018 ruling in the transit case," Gazprom said.

The company added that those hearings were tentatively scheduled for February 2019.

Gas dispute

Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine plunged into a litigation over gas supplies and transit contracts with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce back in 2014. Gazprom is demanding more than $37 bln from the Ukrainian company for gas under the take-or-pay clause for 2012-2016, for the payment for gas supplied in May-June 2014 and gas debts.

On February 28, 2018, the Stockholm Arbitration court handed down a final decision on the dispute between Gazprom and Naftogaz regarding the contract on gas transit via Ukraine. The court obliged Gazprom to pay $2.56 billion to Naftogaz for its failure to deliver the agreed transit gas volumes. In late May and early June, Naftogaz said that it has started to collect the fine through the arrest of Gazprom’s assets in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands.

Gazprom turned to the Svea Court of Appeal, which satisfied Gazprom’s claim on June 13 and suspended the enforcement of the Stockholm Arbitration court’s ruling. On June 18, Naftogaz submitted its objections against the ruling to the Swedish court.

On June 28, the Svea Court of Appeal (Sweden) upheld its June 13, 2018 order to suspend the enforcement of the Stockholm Arbitration’s February 28 decision regarding the contract on gas transit via Ukraine.

In late April, Gazprom submitted to the court a package of documents to terminate the gas supply and transit contracts with Naftogaz. The company said in June that the court has already started forming a panel of judges to handle the matter.