Information of the MFA Turkmenistan for mass media:
Turkmenistan, being a responsible member of the international community, carries out its activities in the international political and economic space in accordance with multilateral and bilateral documents regulating the conduct of participants in international relations.
In this context, it is worth noting the clearly verified and legally justified approach of the Turkmen side to fulfilling its obligations under concluded agreements and contracts with foreign states and legal entities.
In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan informs about the following.
In recent years, biased 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 situation artificially created by MTS, the relevant economic and government structures of Turkmenistan have made every effort to resolve it peacefully, pre-trial and constructively.
However, despite these measures, in 2018 MTS initiated an international arbitration process.
Ultimately, the tribunal established under the rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) dismissed all of MTS’s claims against Turkmenistan on their merits and ordered MTS to pay Turkmenistan over US $ 11 million to cover legal and arbitration costs. The tribunal ruled that the operational contract was a legitimate commercial agreement under Turkmenistan’s legislation, which expired according to its terms, and therefore, MTS had no right or legitimate expectation for its renewal. The tribunal further determined that Turkmenistan committed no wrongful acts concerning MTS’s operations and rejected all other claims by MTS regarding alleged improper measures.
Three months after the tribunal’s arbitration decision, MTS attempted to challenge it in Swedish courts, as Stockholm was designated as the seat of the arbitration. On June 27, 2025, the Svea Court of Appeal (Sweden) dismissed all of MTS’s claims and ruled in favor of Turkmenistan. The court also ordered MTS to reimburse Turkmenistan for legal expenses totaling 589,000 euros, in addition to the US $ 11 million previously awarded by the tribunal.
It should be emphasized that the decision of the Svea Court of Appeal is final and cannot be further appealed, with the court explicitly stating that “there are no grounds for appealing this decision.”
Thus, the decisions by these authoritative arbitration and judicial bodies fully confirm the lawfulness of Turkmenistan’s actions, which strictly adhere to recognized norms and rules governing international economic relations. ///Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, 1 July 2025