MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. Russia still expects Ukraine to pay debt and so far there is no decision regarding the debt restructuring, Finance Minister’s aide Svetlana Nikitina told reporters.
"So far the issue has not been solved fundamentally, we are still waiting for repayment of debt," she said.
Nikitina said that the Finance Ministry has been in contact with the IMF for a long time and discussed the status of the Ukrainian debt with the fund’s representatives. In general, the fund spoke for the restructuring of the debt.
"At the same time, the IMF agreed with the status of the debt /of Ukraine /. We reiterate that this is a sovereign debt, and it cannot be regarded together with commercial debts. Besides that, the IMF is an international organization which, in fact, forms the program of financial assistance to Ukraine and the debt issue can only be solved in the frames of this program, because we know that it is very likely that Ukraine does not have sources to repay the debt. So we are waiting for a response from the IMF," she said.
Earlier this month, speaking on the G20 summit in Turkey, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia had offered Ukraine to repay its $3 billion debt by $1 billion annual installments in 2016-2018. Putin stressed that Russian not only offered the restructuring but also the terms which are better than those that were asked by the IMF.
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Putin added that Russia had asked for guarantees on Ukraine’s debt from either the United States government or from the European Union, or from one of the international financial institutions.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia's proposal to restructure the debt of Ukraine will help the International Monetary Fund /IMF/ avoid creation of a precedent when the order of providing financial aid by the institution must be changed.
In December 2013, the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Viktor Yanukovych agreed that Moscow would grant Kiev a credit worth $15 billion through the placement of Ukrainian securities. Under this program bonds for 3 billion dollars were placed on the Irish Stock Exchange on December 20, 2013. Russia purchased the bonds using the funds from its National Welfare Fund.
Last time Ukraine made bond interest payments in June 2015. Ukraine was expected to fully pay its debt in December 2015.