Gazprom has filed a lawsuit in Stockholm International Arbitration Court seeking to recover USD 4.5 billion in debt from Naftogaz of Ukraine.
According to Gazprom, Naftogaz failed to comply with obligations under a January 19, 2009 contract for natural gas purchase and sale between 2009 and 2019, and has "considerable outstanding debt for natural gas supplied under the Contract and non-payment of current supplies."
Gazprom also announced that, as of June 16, 2014, the company will supply Naftogaz with natural gas only in prepaid volumes according to contractual terms, and Gazprom emphasized that Naftogaz remains "obliged to secure natural gas transit to third countries in full compliance with terms of the effective Contract ... on volumes and conditions for natural gas transit through Ukraine from 2009 to 2019, dated January 19, 2009." Gazprom also announced that it has "already taken and will be taking all possible efforts aimed at preventing potential disruptions of gas supply to European consumers," and said that it has already notified the European Commission about the possibility that Naftogaz will "illegally withdraw gas" from that intended for other European markets.