Tymoshenko rules out possibility of international suits to Ukraine

Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko rules out the possibility of international suits or sanctions against Ukraine due to its unilateral denunciation of the agreement with American company Vanco.

According to an UNIAN correspondent, Yulia Tymoshenko claimed this at a press conference in the Cabinet of Ministers today.

“Everybody here understands what happened to Vanco. There will not be any suits and any sanctions. Even if any kamikazes turn to any international court basing on their illegal activities, Ukraine will not only win the case, but will win very strongly all these disputes”, Yulia Tymoshenko said.

The Prime Minister stressed that today the government unanimously supported the unilateral denunciation of the agreement with Vanco.

“I do appreciate the unity of the government. We unanimously made all the necessary decisions to defend national interests”, she stressed.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in 2006 Vanco International Ltd. Won the first open contest and signed an agreement with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2007 on the exploration of the Black Sea Shelf.

Yulia Tymoshenko’s government pulled Vanco’s license to explore a vast 12,900km field off the Crimean peninsula, citing concern that Gazprom could, through partners, gain a hidden interest in the project that was originally intended to diversify energy supplies by boosting domestic production. Ms Tymoshenko also suggested past governments might have compromised Kyiv’s “national interests” by yielding such a large field and unjustifiable proceeds to a single group.

On May 20 President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko signed a decree, with which he confirmed the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on creating an Inter-Department working group to probe into legality of the agreement on Black Sea Shelf exploration, concluded between the state of Ukraine and Vanco company. Raisa Bohatyryova headed the group.