Ukraine to repay debt to Russia despite moratorium option: FinMin
Xinhua, June 20, 2015 Adjust font size:
Ukraine will pay out its next regular Eurobond coupon on a multi-billion debt to Russia next week despite a moratorium law that allows for a halt to the payment, Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko said here Friday.
"We will pay 75 million U.S. dollars under the so-called Russian bonds," Jaresko told a press conference.
Ukraine is currently fulfilling its obligations to all foreign lenders in order to ensure constructive debt-restructuring negotiations, Jaresko said, adding that Kiev treats Russia " equally to other creditors."
In May, the Ukrainian parliament granted the government the right to impose a moratorium on state debt repayment as Kiev has been negotiating terms for restructuring its debt with foreign lenders.
Russia has reportedly declined to join the debt-restructuring talks and said it would file a lawsuit against Ukraine to the international court if the debt payments were not met.
Ukraine got a 3-billion-dollar loan in the form of Eurobonds from Russia in December 2013 to shore up its economy amid financial crisis. The loan matures in December. Endite