Ukraine not to pay Gazprom $5 bln bill till Stockholm court ruling

KIEV, Jan 18 (PRIME) -- Ukrainian energy holding Naftogaz Ukrainy will not pay a U.S. $5.3 billion bill sent by Russian gas producer Gazprom until a decision by the Stockholm arbitration court, the holding said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Gazprom sent the bill to Kiev on Tuesday for the gas ordered but not taken in April–December 2016 under a take-or-pay condition stipulated by a Russian–Ukrainian long-term gas contract. Kiev must not pay for January–March 2016 because the take-or-pay condition was suspended by a winter gas package deal signed between Russia, Ukraine and the E.U. on September 25, 2015.

“Naftogaz (Ukrainy) has no plans to pay this bill until a decision by the arbitration tribunal on the issue whether the take-or-pay term of the contract is applicable in the existing arbitration dispute,” the holding said.

The Russian and Ukrainian companies have been litigating since 2014 over 2009 contracts of gas supplies to Ukraine and gas transit across Ukraine.

Ukraine suspended direct gas purchases from Russia in November 2015. In December 2016, Kiev expressed readiness to resume the purchases on a condition of the take-or-pay rule suspension.

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