MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Gazprom does not recognize legitimacy of the fine imposed on the company by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, and prepares a lawsuit to appeal to the International arbitration, the Russian gas holding said in a statement.

According to the company, Gazprom does not recognize the legitimacy of the fine and considers Ukraine’s actions a violation of its rights, including those guaranteed by the Russian-Ukrainian intergovernmental agreement on the encouragement and mutual protection of investments from November 27, 1998.

Gazprom has already sent a notice to Ukraine about the Ukrainian side violating its obligations to protect investment and is currently preparing a lawsuit to appeal to International arbitration, the company said.

In February 2016, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine decided to impose a fine on Gazprom for 85.9 bln hryvnia ($3.2 bln) due to the company allegedly violating the legislation on the protection of economic competition. Subsequently, the Committee counted 100% of the fine on the fine. In turn, the Russian company filed complaints against the decision of the antimonopoly authority with different courts.

At the same time, a year after the decision of the Ukrainian committee, the fine increased to 172 bln hryvnia ($6.5 bln) due to fines for its non-payment.