Justice min says Russia can contest Hague court Crimea case ruling

MOSCOW, May 18 (PRIME) -- Russia will most probably contest a ruling by The Hague court obliging Moscow to pay compensation to Ukrainian companies for their losses in Crimea, Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov said at a briefing on Friday.

“It was clear from the very beginning that the decisions to be made will most probably be negative for Russia. This means that they will be contested with a great decree of probability,” Konovalov said.

Naftogaz Ukrainy previously owned Crimean natural gas company Chernomorneftegaz, but it was nationalized in March 2014 when Crimea joined Russia. The Ukrainian holding and six its affiliates filed a suit to the Hague court in October 2016 basing its claims on a 1998 investment protection agreement between Russia and Ukraine seeking to receive U.S. $8 billion compensation for assets they lost in Crimea.

Ukrainian information agency UNIAN reported that compensation will amount to $159 million and the decision was made on May 2.

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