Belarus began to make claims against Russian companies due to problems that arose after the sanctions imposed by the European Union.
The Mogilev Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Belarus, said it had appealed to court to protect the interests of a state-owned company (the prosecutor does not name the company) in order to force a certain LLC in Russia to fulfill contractual obligations worth more than 2.3 million pounds.
An agreement was signed between a Belarusian company and a Russian company, under which the LLC agreed to carry out full overhaul work on a gas turbine.
According to the terms of the contract, work was to be done by the defendant at a manufacturing plant in Lincoln, UK. The deadline for the major repairs is August 6, 2021 – February 26th, 22nd, but the Russian company did not fulfill its obligations under the agreement, including not returning the above-mentioned equipment.
The company justified this by the imposed sanctions of the European Union against the Belarusian enterprise.
“This argument was declared untenable, as the sanctions of the EU and UK cannot serve as a basis for exempting the defendant from fulfilling contractual obligations… According to the court’s decision, the prosecutor’s claims were fully satisfied,” said the Mogilev Regional Prosecutor’s Office in a statement.
Despite not disclosing the names of specific companies, it is likely that Belaruskali (a Belarusian company) and Neftegaz (a Russian subsidiary of Siemens) were involved. Earlier, Belaruskali had filed a lawsuit against Siemens due to their refusal to repair a gas turbine engine.
JSC Belaruskali is one of the largest producers and exporters of potash fertilizers in the world. According to the International Fertilizer Association, it accounts for a fifth of the world’s potash production. In 2021 and 2022, the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Belaruskali.
