PARIS, March 12 (RIA Novosti) -- The Paris Court of Appeals has upheld a 2008 court ruling ordering Swiss company Noga to unfreeze Russian accounts in France, including those of RIA Novosti, the news agency's lawyer said on Thursday.

He also said that the court specifically ordered Noga to pay RIA Novosti 15,000 euros in compensation for legal expenses.

A lower level court previously ruled that since RIA Novosti was recognized as a legal entity separate from the Russian government, it should not be liable for its debts.

The French accounts of Russian organizations, including Russia's Central Bank and RIA Novosti, were frozen in January 2008 over a 49 million-euro ($75 million) claim, filed by Noga for outstanding debts under barter oil deals struck with Russia's government in the early 1990s.

Since 1993, Noga has repeatedly applied for the seizure of Russian property abroad, including a sailing vessel and military aircraft that were taking part in exhibitions and shows. In 2005, it seized a collection of paintings owned by the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in an attempt to secure the repayment of debts.