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Ukraine extends indefinitely moratorium on Russian debt repayment

Xinhua, April 12, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Ukrainian parliament said Tuesday it has extended indefinitely the country's moratorium on a repayment of a 3-billion-U.S.-dollar debt to Russia.

The proposal to extend the moratorium, which was previously valid till July 1, was approved by 242 lawmakers out of the 365 present in the assembly, according to a statement on the parliament's website.

The Ukrainian government borrowed the two-year loan in the form of Eurobonds from Russia in December 2013 to shore up its economy.

Faced with the financial crisis, Ukraine has failed to repay the loan on time, offering Russia to join its debt-relief agreement with other international creditors, which envisages a 20-percent write-off of Kiev's debt and a 4-year extension of the loan repayment period.

Russia has rejected the proposal, suggesting instead a debt-relief plan, under which Ukraine could repay its arrears in three installments of 1 billion dollars each within the next three years.

As the sides failed to agree on the terms of the repayment, Moscow has filed a lawsuit against Kiev over the debt at London's High Court. Endi