London court made no final decision on Russia's claim against Ukraine - minister
KYIV. March 31 (Interfax) - The High Court in London has not made any final decision in the $3 billion debt lawsuit filed by Russia against Ukraine, Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko said.
"Yesterday there was no final decision. This was a procedural ruling that the Finance Ministry, which is representing Ukraine in the case, will challenge in relation to procedural moments. There was no judgment on the merits," he told reporters on March 30 in Kyiv.
The Russian Finance Ministry reported on Wednesday that London's High Court ruled that Ukraine needs to pay back Russia $3 billion in Eurobonds along with accrued interest after reviewing Russia's case against Ukraine in an expedited procedure.
London's High Court found there to be a lack of any kind of arguments from the defendant, refuting arguments by the complainant on the presence of debt on the Eurobonds and as a consequence, there was no need to review the presented defense arguments in full trial proceedings, which envisaged oral hearings from the sides.
In particular, in its decision the court noted that taking into account the fact that the issue was about requirements to meet obligations on a debt instrument, the respondent does not have any arguments the court could subject to review in favor of not recognizing the validity of those demands, the press release said.
This, the court has "delivered its final ruling, which obligates Ukraine to debt on Eurobonds to Russia in full," the ministry said. No further hearings in the London High Court are envisaged, it said.