| 2015-11-16 |
Kiev freezes repayments of $3bn Russian debt |
Ukraine is going to stop paying off the $3bn Russian debt if Moscow refuses to join other bondholders in a debt restructuring. It was said by Arseniy Yatseniuk, Ukraine’s prime minister, during the press conference with U. S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
Arseniy Yatseniuk confirmed “Russia would not get any different conditions from other creditors”.
He also said Kiev would give Moscow another 2 weeks to accept the deal, if it did not, he said: “We are ready for a legal war with the Russian Federation”.
Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko acknowledged previously that Ukraine could be defaulted on its repayments for the debt.
In December 2013 the Russian President Vladimir Putin gave credit in the amount of $15bn to former Ukrainian leader Victor Yanukovitsh. Moscow continues to insist that the debt Kiev owes is not private, but a state and official one.
In September, Ukraine began restructuring its debt. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no interest in Kiev’s restructuring plans and Russia will demand full repayment of Ukraine's Eurobonds by the end of December. The crucial question for the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is whether the Russian debt is commercial, as Kiev states, or the official one, as Moscow contends.
Earlier last week Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the IMF should lend Ukraine the $3 billion to pay off Russia.
On September 8, the Russian Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, announced that Russia will seek legal actions against Ukraine and they will question the validity of the IMF program, if the bond is not paid back in full.
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