Ukraine is to pay another part of public debt today

According to analysts, if Ukraine carries out the payment, it will signal Kyiv authorities’ disposition to reach a deal with the creditors, but they may lose the main lever of pressure in negotiations with creditors - a threat to impose a moratorium. Imposing a moratorium would mean a technical default, threatening to trigger cross-default clauses on Ukraine’s sovereign debt.

In late May Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko stated that if there were no progress in talks with the creditors, Ukraine would "theoretically" be in a position to declare a moratorium on public debt payments in late July, with such right being provided by a law, which had come in force on June 17, and the Cabinet would have the right to impose a moratorium on foreign debt payments to private creditors until July 1, 2016.

According to the minister, the possibility of setting a moratorium will have no significant impact on Ukraine`s domestic market, while some experts predict that such move will cause devaluation of hryvnia by 20%.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on July 15, Jaresko personally met with Ukraine’s creditors in Washington to discuss restructuring of the country’s sovereign debt. Both sides reported significant progress in the negotiations.

As part of the program with the IMF, Ukraine has been conducting negotiations with the creditors on restructuring its public debt, regarding extension of maturities, reduction of the coupon and writing-off part of the debt`s nominal value. The measures aim at saving $5.2 billion on debt securities payments in 2015 and up to $15.3 in the next four years.