Kazakhstan’s justice ministry said it will not enforce a special court’s decision allowing Ukraine’s Naftogaz to collect a $1.4 billion international arbitration award from Russia’s Gazprom.
“The Republic of Kazakhstan will not serve as a transit venue for enforcing decisions that have no legal connection to the country. As such, the republic’s legal mechanisms do not provide for the consideration of disputes falling outside its jurisdiction,” Justice Minister Erlan Sarsembayev told Zakon.kz in an interview published on Monday.
His statement follows a ruling last week by a court at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which had recognized and upheld a Swiss International Commercial Court (ICC) arbitration award in favor of Naftogaz.
The underlying commercial dispute stems from a 2019 contract covering Russian natural gas transit through Ukraine. Following Russia’s invasion in 2022, transit through the Sokhranivka distribution station in the eastern Luhansk region was suspended, though deliveries continued through the Sudzha entry point.
Sarsembayev argued that the case lacked a basic jurisdictional link to AIFC, pointing out that Gazprom is not a member of the financial hub, the disputed transaction did not take place on its territory and the center’s laws do not govern the dispute.
