MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Russia already has the right to demand early debt repayment from Ukraine, but does not do it by the request of Kiev and the IMF, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
The terms of the agreement, which was signed under the European law, envisage that if the total public debt of Ukraine exceeds 60%, the right of early repayment is valid, Putin said.
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"However, by the request of our Ukrainian partners and the IMF, we do not use this right. We do not want to aggravate further the difficult economic situation of our partners and neighbors," Putin said at a meeting with government members.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s parliament approved the law granting the government the right to impose moratorium on foreign debts payments, including the $3 bln debt received from Russia in 2013. The document was upheld by 256 MPs. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Ukraine was to pay $30 bln of foreign debt and $17 bln of domestic debt within 4 years. He added that the moratorium concerns only private creditors, holding the debt of Ukraine. He also called on the country's Western partners to grant it real financial assistance.
Kiev regards its $3 bln Eurobonds held by Russia as a private loan, which is thus subject to the moratorium. Moscow insists the loan cannot be considered private and should be paid back in due time - in December 2015.