De facto Ukraine has recognized the gas contract and put the Stockholm court into a very difficult situation... The confrontation with Russia over gas prices has been lost by Ukraine. About this in the comments to Gordonua.com said the former presidential envoy of Ukraine on international energy security Bohdan Sokolovskyi.

“This confrontation is actually already over and it ended in the victory of Russia. It benefits from understatements, it wants to continue to keep everything on the hook of uncertainty. Russia tells us its price, but we do not pay. We tell our price, but Russia does not agree to it. They have achieved their goal”...

The expert believes that the authorities should not have paid the debt to “Gazprom”, because it will only complicate the proceedings in the Stockholm arbitration.

“Anyway, we have paid a part of the debt. And even if we had paid not 786 million but one cent, it would have been a desirable goal for Russia. This way we de facto recognized the contract and we have put the Stockholm court into a very difficult position. This will continue forever. Before transferring the money we had chances to win in court, but after having paid it, they have decreased significantly. Mentality of the Stockholm court is that the case law is applied very widely. We should not have paid a copeck. But our Prime Minister says one thing and then pays the money. And that money pays for the Russian soldiers coming here with tanks and killing our children. That's the whole truth!”,- concluded Sokolovsky.