Ukraine Approves Settlement With Gazprom Over Antitrust Claim

(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s cabinet approved an agreement with Russian state-run energy company Gazprom PJSC to settle a longstanding antitrust dispute as the countries negotiate a new natural gas contract.

The terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed in the Ukrainian decree, which was published on the cabinet’s website.

In 2016, the Ukrainian antitrust committee fined Gazprom for abuse of its monopoly position in gas transit from Russia to Europe through Ukrainian territory. A court in Kyiv allowed the competition authority to seize some of Gazprom’s assets and accounts in 2017 and the total fine imposed on Gazprom then amounted to $7.2 billion.

Gazprom argued at the time that the fine was in breach of the 1998 bilateral accord between Russia and Ukraine on mutual investment protection. Ukraine and Russia are in discussions in Vienna on a new gas transit contract to take the countries forward after their current agreement expires on Jan. 1.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daryna Krasnolutska in Kyiv at dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net, Sara Marley, James Amott

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