UNIAN
Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov has warned that Russia will go to court in the event of the non-repayment by Ukraine at this end of the year of a $3 billion loan negotiated in 2013 by the previous government under former President Viktor Yanukovych.
Siluanov said this during an interview with Russian television’s Russia 1 channel.
"During my recent conversation with the Minister of Finance of Ukraine, I was given the assurances that those obligations that are due in December this year, $3 billion, are accounted for in the Ukrainian budget", Siluanov said.
"If this statement is disavowed, we will act in accordance with the agreement on investment by Russian National Wealth Fund in Ukrainian bonds, [and] in the case of non-payment, we will refer to arbitration courts under English law," he added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, on December 17, 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the then President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych agreed on providing to Ukraine a loan of $15 billion dollars. Russia said it would buy $15 billion worth of Ukrainian sovereign bonds. The first tranche of $3 billion was granted to Ukraine in late December of 2013.
On October 17, 2014, Putin said that Russia could but would not demand from the Ukrainian authorities the early repayment of the loan of $3 billion so as not to "break" the Ukrainian financial system.
In January 14, 2015, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev claimed that the Russian Federation had every reason to demand from Ukraine the early repayment of the $3 billion loan.