AIRLINK 172.80 Decreased By ▼ -2.93 (-1.67%)
BOP 13.25 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.99%)
CNERGY 7.41 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.72%)
FCCL 43.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-1.07%)
FFL 14.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.8%)
FLYNG 26.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-1.67%)
HUBC 129.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.53 (-0.41%)
HUMNL 13.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-0.67%)
KEL 4.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-1.33%)
KOSM 6.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.83%)
MLCF 55.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.12%)
OGDC 212.30 Decreased By ▼ -2.47 (-1.15%)
PACE 5.91 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-1.17%)
PAEL 41.15 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.61%)
PIAHCLA 16.37 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.31%)
PIBTL 9.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-1.85%)
POWER 11.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-1.96%)
PPL 178.21 Decreased By ▼ -3.27 (-1.8%)
PRL 33.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-1.43%)
PTC 22.82 Decreased By ▼ -0.24 (-1.04%)
SEARL 94.20 Decreased By ▼ -1.52 (-1.59%)
SILK 1.18 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (3.51%)
SSGC 34.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.55 (-1.55%)
SYM 15.79 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.25%)
TELE 7.81 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.76%)
TPLP 10.84 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.28%)
TRG 60.80 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (0.5%)
WAVESAPP 10.76 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.46%)
WTL 1.33 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-1.48%)
YOUW 3.80 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.8%)
BR100 12,035 Decreased By -18.8 (-0.16%)
BR30 36,355 Decreased By -112 (-0.31%)
KSE100 113,712 Decreased By -644.2 (-0.56%)
KSE30 35,053 Decreased By -294.3 (-0.83%)

MOSCOW: Russia announced Thursday that it paid interest on foreign debt due this week, avoiding a devastating default for now after it was hit by unprecedented Western sanctions over Ukraine.

The country had risked its first foreign debt default in more than a century if it had missed the payment on two-dollar denominated bonds.

But the finance ministry said in a statement that a payment order worth $117.2 million “was executed” after it was sent to a bank on Monday.

There had been concerns that the sanctions would prevent Moscow from accessing dollars to make the payment, causing a default if it used rubles instead.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has “all the necessary means” to avoid a default.

“Any default that could arise would be purely artificial in nature,” Peskov told reporters.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov accused the West earlier this week of pushing the country towards an “artificial default”.

Western sanctions have crippled the Russian banking sector and financial system and precipitated a collapse of the ruble.

Ratings agency Fitch warned last week that Russia faced “imminent” default.

Russia last defaulted on foreign currency-held debt in 1918, when Bolshevik revolution leader Vladimir Lenin refused to recognise the debts of the deposed tsar’s regime.

Russia defaulted on domestic, ruble-denominated debt in 1998.

Sanctions over Russia’s operation in Ukraine have targeted $300 billion of its foreign currency reserves held abroad.

Without access to these funds, concern has mounted that Russia could find itself forced to default.

Siluanov had warned earlier this week that the debt may be paid in rubles if necessary even though the interest payments due this week had to be made in dollars. Russia’s government said Thursday that the payment was made in a foreign currency, without specifying which.

Comments

Comments are closed.