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Payments for aircraft leased from unfriendly states to be converted to rubles

The document was posted on Friday

MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on a temporary procedure for performance of financial obligations in the transport sphere for certain foreign creditors. The document was posted on the official website of legal information.

According to the document, Russian airlines will be able to transfer leasing payments to foreign companies in rubles.

"To establish that obligations on making rental, leasing and other payments within the implementation framework of agreements stipulating purchase, rental, leasing of aircraft, auxiliary power plants, aircraft engines <…> are recognized as properly performed if these obligations are performed for their primary business companies - residents by way of debtor’s transfer of funds in rubles to the account of the primary business company - resident opened with a Russian credit institution, in the amount equivalent to the value of obligations in foreign currency (irrespective of the currency reflecting such cost) and calculated at the official rate of the Central Bank of Russia set as of the day of obligations performance," the decree says.

It also follows from the document that money can be transferred to an account of a foreign lessor opened with a Russian banks in rubles.

A similar payment pattern will now apply for gas export.

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