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US to slap sanctions on Russia’s state debt only as measure of last resort, minister hopes

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that if more sanctions are imposed, "foreign investors will hardly participate in our domestic financial market"

© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS Host Photo Agency

MOSCOW, October 5. /TASS/. First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov hopes that Washington would not impose sanctions against the Russian state debt.

"Let us not be ahead of the events, hopefully that is the measure of last resort, though our overseas partners are considering such legislative initiatives," he said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel on Friday. "I agree that is not very pleasant as we enter the borrowings market more and more each year, and plan to boost those borrowings next year to finance the Development Fund to be used to implement national projects," he said.

If more sanctions are imposed, "foreign investors will hardly participate in our domestic financial market," Siluanov said, adding though that "the share of foreign investors has been declining in any case." "Previously foreign investors accounted for 33% of all investments in the total debt structure, whereas today it equals around 27%," he said, noting that local financial institutions filled the gap, and the "the financial sector has a sufficient amount of liquidity."

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