KIEV/STOCKHOLM, May 28 (RAPSI) – According to the Ukrainian state procurement registry update posted on Wednesday, Naftogaz has enlisted lawyers from the Norwegian Wikborg, Rein & Co. firm for the upcoming litigation with Russian gas monopoly, Gazprom.

Wikborg, Rein & Co representative confirmed the firm’s involvement to RIA Novosti over the phone, but could not disclose the any details.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, earlier appointed acting prime minister of Ukraine by Verkhovna Rada, in his address to the European Commission and EU leaders regarding the distribution of Russian gas, claimed that Gazprom’s response to a pre-trial notice from Naftogaz indicates that the gas producer refuses to negotiate. Yatsenyuk also said that if nothing changes, Kiev will file a lawsuit with the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in late May.

Ukraine is requesting that Gazprom review a number of provisions in its contract with Naftogaz – first of all, reduction in the price that Kiev believes is unreasonably high. Ukrainian Minister of Energy Yuriy Prodan also said the existing debt for Russian gas– estimated at $3.5 bn by Gazprom – could also be reduced.