Russia makes payment on sovereign debt

Russia’s Finance Ministry announced on Friday it has settled two issues of dollar-denominated Eurobonds “in full” by sending 17 billion rubles ($221.1 million) in coupon payments to the National Settlement Depository (NSD).

According to the ministry, the payments were on Eurobonds maturing in 2030.

“Thus, obligations on servicing the state securities of the Russian Federation were fulfilled by the Finance Ministry in full,” the statement said.

The payments were made under the mechanism that enables transactions in rubles that was introduced last June, in response to Western sanctions and US attempts to prevent Russia from making debt payments in foreign currency.

Moscow accused Washington at the time of trying to engineer an artificial default, since the country was fully capable of paying its debts.

The mechanism has allowed Russia to pay its foreign-currency debt obligations on time.

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