Russia will service its foreign currency debt obligations in rubles if the United States blocks other options, and will not declare a moratorium on payments, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
Washington is considering blocking the possibility for Russia to pay for US-held bonds, leaving the May 25 deadline, which would bring Moscow closer to a moratorium.
Moscow is due to make another Eurobond payment on May 27.
“We are not going to declare a moratorium on payments, we have money – unless Western countries make it impossible for us to service our debt,” the finance minister said during an economic forum. “If the western financial institutions close the door on us, we will be able to pay and we will pay in rubles as a last resort.”
Western sanctions on Russia have barred trade with Russia’s finance ministry, central bank and Russia’s National Resources Fund.
But the U.S. waiver, issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on March 2, provided for an exemption from “interest, dividends, or maturity payments related to debt or equity.”
This allowed Moscow to continue to pay investors and avoid default on its external debt. It allowed American investors to continue to receive interest on bonds.
After the waiver expires on May 25, Russia will have to make $ 2 billion in bond payments by the end of the year.
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
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