(MENAFN- AFP) Russia will use every means to defend itself after the arbitration court in the Hague ordered it to pay $50 billion compensation to Yukos shareholders, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.
Energy giant Rosneft, which acquired the assets of Yukos after the jailing of its founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, said that all its dealings were lawful.
Lavrov responded to an initial report of the verdict on Monday morning at a briefing saying: "It goes without saying that Russia, the agencies that represent Russia in this case, will use all the legal options it has to uphold its position."
Rosneft said in a statement that it "considers that all its deals in acquiring Yukos's former assets and also all its other actions towards Yukos were fully lawful and were carried out according to the legislation in force."
The state-held oil giant, which is targeted by US sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine, said that it "does not consider that the company could be issued any demands due to the published ruling or that the ruling could have a negative effect on the commercial activities or assets of the company."
Yukos was sold off in opaque auctions to state companies led by Rosneft. The government firm was then a small player but today stands as the world's biggest stock market publicly traded producer of oil.
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