Ukrainian state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz announced on June 23 that it had filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Russia for property loss in Crimea, asking for $5 billion in compensation.
Naftogaz wrote on Telegram that it has the right to file the lawsuit at the U.S. court due to the provisions of the New York Convention of 1958.
This convention allows Naftogaz to apply for the enforcement of a previous court ruling against Russia in countries where Russian assets are located, the company said.
On April 13, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ordered Russia to pay $5 billion in compensation for the loss of Naftogaz' property in Crimea.
"Now Russia must comply with this decision in accordance with its obligations under international law," Naftogaz CEO Oleksii Chernyshov said.
As of today, Moscow has not agreed to follow the ruling and pay the compensation, however.
"Since Russia has not voluntarily paid Naftogaz the funds stipulated by the court decision, we intend to use all available mechanisms to collect these funds. We are currently working on this in the United States and other target jurisdictions," Chernyshov said.
In February, Russian proxies in Crimea approved the seizure of hundreds of high-value pieces of Ukrainian-owned real estate on the occupied peninsula.
The Crimean peninsula was occupied by the Russian Federation in 2014 following the EuroMaidan Revolution, which ousted pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
