Artur Zurabyan estimated the bases and prospects of Naftogaz’s new claim about the protection of investments in Crimea

The Naftogaz company of Ukraine and six of its subsidiaries filed a lawsuit in an international court against Russia on Monday, demanding USD 2.6 billion to compensate for the losses resulting from “the unlawful seizure of group of assets in the Crimea by the Russian Federation.” Naftogaz maintained that the basis for the claim of Natofgaz is an agreement between the Government of Russia and the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers on the promotion and mutual protection of investments, better known as the Russian-Ukrainian bilateral investment agreement.

Artur Zurabyan, the head of the international litigation and arbitration practice at ART DE LEX, remarked that arguments about the expropriation are controversial. He noted that, in this case, perhaps there was a question of the assets of legal entities registered in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol that cannot be regarded as Ukrainian investors.