The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has ordered Russia to pay compensation of 5 billion dollars to the Ukrainian public energy company Naftogaz for the confiscation of his property on the Ukrainian peninsula of crimeaoccupied by Russia since 2014.
“Despite Russia’s efforts to obstruct justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration has forced the Russian Federation to compensate Naftogaz for the confiscation of its assets in Crimea in 2014”the Ukrainian public company said in a statement.
According to Naftogaz, the compensation is the highest ever handed down by this international court arbitration system established in 1899 by numerous governments for the resolution of disputes and disagreements between States.
More than 120 Statesamong them Russiaare part of the court that it has calculated the compensation taking into account the market value at the time of the expropriation of the assets of Naftogaz that Russia appropriated when it annexed the Crimean peninsula.
If Moscow does not comply with the court decision, Naftogaz may initiate another procedure to request the seizure of Russian assets in the territory of countries that do respect the court’s rulings.
The Russian answer
Russia assured today that it will analyze the sentence of the Court.
”The decision needs to be analyzed. Our specialists who are dedicated to protecting our rights and in this case will now analyze and decide on further actions” by Russia in the litigation, said the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskovin his daily telephone press conference.
The Ukrainian gas company has demanded $8 billion from Russia in compensation and interest for the expropriation of its assets during the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The gas company filed a lawsuit against Russia in July 2019 in which it requested the return of 5.3 billion dollars for the loss of its assets, but at the beginning of 2020 it announced its intention to present a new valuation, which it detailed in a memorandum before the court.
Naftogaz, together with six other companies in the group, thus responded to a counter-memorial by Russia formulated before the Court in December 2019, in which it argued that it owes nothing to the Ukrainian consortium, although it did not deny having expropriated its assets.
The arbitration procedure was initiated in 2016 in The Hague court on the basis of the Investment Protection Agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
The Ukrainian gas company asserts that it owned before the annexation “the most valuable energy assets in Crimea” and that these were “one of Russia’s main targets when it seized Ukrainian assets during the illegal invasion and occupation of the peninsula in 2014.”
(with information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com