MOSCOW - Russian and Ukrainian Finance Ministers Anton Siluanov and Natalie Jaresko could conduct negotiations this week during the annual IMF, World Bank, and G20 meeting, which will take place on Oct. 9-11 in Lima, Peru.
“The possibility of the meeting is being discussed,” the Russian side’s press secretary Svetlana Nikitina told Interfax.
At the end of September, Ukraine called a meeting for all holders of sovereign Eurobond issues for Oct. 14, including for a loan of $3 billion, purchased by Russia in December of 2013, using National Welfare Fund funds. Ukraine is offering the same terms of restructuring that it did for market issues as it is for Russian Eurobonds. Russia, in turn, does not recognize this debt as commercial and does not intend to participate in restructuring.
Siluanov earlier told Interfax that if the issue of Ukraine paying its $3 billion in debt goes to court, then Russia will continue to insist on repayment of the debt in full.
“If we go to court, then we will go after repayment of the debt in full. It is not right to enter negotiations with commercial lenders. We have a special status. And furthermore, for now they have not been able to come to an agreement with the lenders. First certain conditions are laid out, and then other conditions, and then we find out that half of the lenders are not in agreement,” he said.
