Allegations of Russia's default on foreign debt are unfounded, Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russia made the adequate payment in May, the Kremlin spokesman said. The fact that the funds were not brought to recipients is "not our problem,” he added.
According to Bloomberg, Russia experienced a default on sovereign debt in foreign currency for the first time since 1918. The grace period to pay obligations on government bonds in the amount of about $100 million expired on May 26.
At the same time, the default is symbolic in nature and means little for Russia's residents, Bloomberg added in its report. The problem is not related to the lack of funds to pay off the debt. It occurred for technical reasons due to the impact of sanctions.
In late May, the United States terminated the license, under which Russia serviced its public debt in US dollars. It excluded payments for servicing part of the country's sovereign debt from anti-Russian restrictions. On June 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the payment of external public debt in rubles.
Russia's Ministry of Finance has made two coupon payments in accordance with the new settlement procedure. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stressed that such a measure was connected with the refusal of foreign counterparties to execute dollar payments.
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