Press Release

As a responsible member of the international community, Turkmenistan conducts its activities in the global political and economic arena in accordance with multilateral and bilateral agreements that govern the conduct of actors in international relations.

In this context, it is particularly important to highlight the carefully considered and legally substantiated approach taken by the Turkmen side in fulfilling its obligations under treaties, agreements, and contracts concluded with foreign states and legal entities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan hereby provides the following information.

In recent years, the media has repeatedly published biased and inaccurate reports regarding alleged “claims” by the Public Joint Stock Company "Mobile TeleSystems" (MTS) against the Turkmen side.

To resolve the dispute artificially created by MTS, the relevant economic and governmental bodies of Turkmenistan undertook all necessary efforts for a peaceful, pre-judicial, and constructive settlement of the situation.

Nevertheless, in 2018, MTS initiated international arbitration proceedings.

As a result, a tribunal established under the rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) rejected all of MTS’s claims against Turkmenistan on the merits and awarded Turkmenistan more than USD 11 million in legal and arbitration costs. The tribunal found that the operational contract in question was a lawful commercial agreement under Turkmen law, which had expired in accordance with its own terms. Therefore, MTS had neither the right nor any legitimate expectations to extend the contract. The tribunal also concluded that Turkmenistan had not engaged in any unlawful conduct regarding MTS’s activities and rejected all remaining claims concerning alleged misconduct.

Three months after the tribunal’s decision, MTS sought to challenge it in the Swedish courts, as Stockholm had been designated as the seat of arbitration. Following the proceedings, the Svea Court of Appeal (Sweden), in its decision of 27 June 2025, rejected all of MTS’s claims and ruled in favor of Turkmenistan. The court further ordered MTS to reimburse Turkmenistan’s legal expenses related to the case in the amount of EUR 589,000, which must be paid in addition to the USD 11 million in costs previously awarded by the tribunal.

It should be noted that the Court of Appeal’s decision is final and cannot be appealed. The court explicitly stated that “there are no grounds for appealing this decision.”

Thus, the aforementioned rulings issued by reputable arbitration and judicial bodies have fully confirmed the legitimacy of Turkmenistan’s actions, which remain in strict compliance with universally recognized norms and principles governing international economic relations.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan