Information for the mass media

Turkmenistan, being a responsible member of the world community, carries out its activities in the international political and economic space in accordance with multilateral and bilateral documents regulating the behavior of participants in international relations.

In this context, it is necessary to especially note the clearly verified and legally justified approach of the Turkmen side to the fulfillment of its obligations under the concluded treaties, agreements and contracts with foreign states and legal entities.

In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan informs about the following.

Over the past few years, tendentious and untrue reports about the so-called "claims" of the public joint-stock company Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) against the Turkmen side have repeatedly appeared in the media.

In order to resolve the controversial situation artificially created by MTS, the relevant economic and state structures of Turkmenistan have made every effort to resolve it peacefully, pre-trial and constructively.

However, despite this, in 2018 MTS initiated international arbitration proceedings.

Ultimately, a tribunal constituted under the rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled to dismiss all of MTS’s claims against Turkmenistan on the merits and awarded Turkmenistan over US$11 million in legal and arbitration costs. The tribunal found that the operating contract was a valid commercial contract under Turkmen law that had expired in accordance with its terms, and therefore MTS had no right or legitimate expectation of an extension of the contract. The tribunal also found that Turkmenistan had not committed any wrongdoing in relation to MTS’s operations and dismissed all of MTS’s remaining claims for allegedly unlawful measures.

Three months after the tribunal’s award, MTS sought to challenge it in the Swedish courts, as Stockholm had been designated as the venue for arbitration. As a result of the proceedings, the Svea Court of Appeal (Sweden) by its decision of June 27, 2025 rejected all claims of MTS and ruled in favor of Turkmenistan. At the same time, the court ordered MTS to compensate Turkmenistan for the costs associated with the proceedings in the total amount of 589 thousand euros, which must be paid in addition to the 11 million costs awarded by the tribunal's decision earlier.

It should be emphasized that the decision of the Court of Appeal cannot be appealed further and the court explicitly stated that "there are no grounds for filing an appeal against this decision."

Thus, the above decisions made by authoritative arbitration and judicial authorities fully confirmed the legality of the actions of the Turkmen side, strictly following the generally recognized norms and rules governing international economic relations.

Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan

« 1 » July 2025