Russia ready to go to court if Kiev fails to redeem Eurobonds

MOSCOW, Dec 7 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Finance Ministry has confirmed its intention to file a claim against Ukraine if it fails to redeem its U.S. $3 billion Eurobond debt on December 20, the ministry said in a statement on December 5.

“Despite the absence of Ukraine’s official request to the Russian government on restructuring of its sovereign $3 billion debt, Russia has made its own proposal on redemption of the debt in installments for three years (2016–2018) under guarantees of the U.S., the E.U. or a first-class international financial institution,” the ministry said.

“This week we have received an official refusal of the U.S. government to grant guarantees on liabilities of the Ukrainian government. In this regard, we have nothing more left than to file a claim to court against Ukraine if the borrower does not fulfill its liabilities on December 20, which will mean a sovereign default of Ukraine.

“Moreover, there are risks that Ukraine will not receive the next tranche from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) as it has still not approved the budget for 2016 that will comply with parameters of the fund’s program due to the lack of a coordinated tax reform draft and necessary structural measures.”

Previously, Kiev agreed to restructure its commercial debts with delays of the first redemptions until 2019 and a partial write-off of the debt, and said that the $3 billion Eurobond debt to Russia is subject of restructuring. Moscow thinks that the debt is sovereign as Eurobonds were bought in 2012 by a state, and it is not subject of commercial restructuring.

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