KIEV, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko on Thursday has welcomed the first ruling of the Stockholm arbitration court over Ukraine's gas dispute with Russia.
"This is a serious signal for us that foreign investors will come to Ukraine, because on our territory the price is formed by European standards," Petrenko told reporters during a press conference.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's state-run energy company Naftogaz said that the Stockholm court has ruled to cancel the "take-or-pay" clause prescribed in the 2009 contract between Kiev and Moscow, which obliges Ukraine to pay for the agreed amount of gas whether it uses it or not.
Meanwhile, Russia's energy giant Gazprom head Alexei Miller said that it was too early to comment on the case as the ruling is just the interim stage of the court process and the final decision will be no earlier than the end of this month.
In June 2014, Gazprom had filed a lawsuit at the Stockholm arbitration court demanding Ukraine pay off the gas debt, including the fine for "take-or-pay."
Naftogaz, in turn, brought litigation at the same court to contest Gazprom's pricing mechanism and other provisions of the contract. Enditem
