Ukraine to open debt talks with Russia - Reuters

Ukrainian finance officials will open talks with Russian counterparts on a maturing $3 billion Eurobond that Russia holds on the sidelines of IMF-World Bank meetings in Peru, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday.

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"My understanding is that the Ukrainian government is now approaching the Russian government and that conversation may begin in coming days at the Lima ... meeting," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, earlier today, Reuters reports.

She said Ukraine would offer Russia the same terms agreed with private creditors.

Nuland told a congressional hearing there had been no formal discussions with Russia on the issue because Kyiv just completed a debt restructuring deal with private creditors on $18 billion of its debt. The Russia bond matures in December.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko confirmed earlier reports of her planned meeting with Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov during G20 meeting in Peru later this week.

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