OREANDA-NEWS. The hearing at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the suit of Naftogaz of Ukrainy against Russia due to the loss of the company’s assets in Crimea, scheduled for May, may be postponed due to the epidemic of coronavirus infection.

This was announced by Director for Business Development of Naftogaz, Yury Vitrenko. “The hearing is due in May. But there is a significant probability that it will be postponed due to quarantine,” the top manager said in an interview with the Ukrainian edition OilPoint. He added that after the hearing, the tribunal needs time to reach a decision. “Ideally, it takes 3–4 months, but maybe more,” Vitrenko explained.

In October 2016, Naftogaz initiated arbitration proceedings against the Russian Federation on the basis of an agreement on the protection of investments adopted by the governments of two countries. Naftogaz is asking the judges to oblige the Russian side to pay compensation for violating it, pointing out the loss of Naftogaz’s strategically important energy assets in Crimea.