Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič did not give Russia guarantees that Ukraine will not activate its 172bn hryvnia anti-monopoly fine slammed on Gazprom, as Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has misinterpreted the words of the European official.
"Mr. Novak misinterprets the statements of Vice President of the European Commission. [In fact, Ukraine guaranteed] an unimpeded transit of gas delivered to European consumers," Deputy foreign Minister of Ukraine Olena Zerkal wrote on Facebook.
On 12 December, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak says he obtained the assurances from the European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič that Ukraine will not give the go-ahead to its 172bn hryvnia fine on Gazprom. The Economic Court of Kyiv on December 5 ruled on the forced recovery of almost 172bn hryvnia (6.6bn dollars) in an anti-monopoly fine on the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom.