You're reading: Lavrov says Russia ready to settle gas dispute with Ukraine in court

Moscow, September 5 (Interfax) – Russia is ready to defend its position in the gas dispute with Ukraine at any international court, but Kyiv hopes the situation will be settled bilaterally.

"The presidential press secretary said by his order that we were prepared to defend our position at any international court," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

"There is always a group of people – lawyers – who are interested in court procedures. Most probably, we will try to do our best to facilitate their life and find a solution in the bilateral format," he said.

"Certainly, we have enough arguments to present our position at any international court, but we still hope for the soonest finding of a solution, which would meet the modern market situation and legal practice," he said.

The Russia-Ukraine gas agreement "must be fulfilled unconditionally and must not be reviewed unilaterally. Russia is prepared to defend its position on this treaty at any court, and it will act in strict compliance with the provisions of this document," Russian Presidential Press Secretary Natalia Timakova said on Saturday.

Ukraine will initiate court hearings for breaking up the gas accord with Russia, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said in the beginning of last. Ukrainian leaders repeated this statement in the following days.