MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. Gazprom has filed a new lawsuit against Naftogaz of Ukraine in the Russian court, according to the arbitration cases database.
The lawsuit was submitted to the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region on Thursday. No specifics are provided in the database.
In January 2024, the Russian court banned Naftogaz of Ukraine from pursuing its case in the ICC International Court of Arbitration. The court then ruled that Naftogaz pay $150 mln to Gazprom if the ban on pursuing the case was not observed. According to the latest court ruling, the penalty will exceed $1.35 bln.
Gazprom's representative in the court said earlier that the company considered it unrealistic to ensure impartiality in the consideration of the dispute in the International Court of Arbitration, considering that the judicial institution was located in France, Switzerland was the actual location of the proceedings, and two of the three appointed judges were also citizens of Switzerland and Sweden, whereas all those countries imposed sanctions against Russia, and they were considered unfriendly states.
In the fall of 2022, Naftogaz of Ukraine petitioned the International Court of Arbitration against Gazprom for allegedly delayed payment for gas transportation services through Ukrainian territory. Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said that the arbitration proceeding was illegitimate, and that the Russian holding's participation in the process was pointless. That said, Russia could impose sanctions on Naftogaz if the Ukrainian company continues to engage in dishonest behavior, which will make any future relations with it impossible.