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Russia has resources to fulfil debt obligations, default is ruled out, regulator says

However, there are difficulties with payments, head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina noted

Russian Central Bank Chief Elvira Nabiullina Peter Kovalev/TASS

Russian Central Bank Chief Elvira Nabiullina

© Peter Kovalev/TASS

MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. Russia’s Finance Ministry has all the resources to fulfill its obligations, any default is out of the question, head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said after a meeting of the Board of Directors of the regulator on Friday.

"Concerning the Finance’s Ministry’s obligations on debts, I would like to reiterate that the ministry has the resources, and economically, there can be no question of any default," she said.

However, Nabiullina admitted that there are difficulties with payments.

"I hope that all this will end up successfully," she added.

Earlier, IMF European Department Director Alfred Kammer said that the low level of Russian sovereign debt and market conditions reduce the risks for the Russian government in case of a possible technical default.

According to the data of the Russian Finance Ministry, as of February 1, 2022, Russia's external public debt amounted to $59.5 billion, including debt on external bond loans - $38.97 billion. In total, the Russian Federation has 15 active bond loans with maturity periods from 2022 to 2047.

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