REUTERS
Russia believes that the decision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to change its lending rules to allow it to keep supporting countries if they fail to repay official creditors has been made to Russia's disadvantage, according to Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Bloomberg reported.
"The decision to change the rules looks rushed and biased," Russian Finance Minister said in Moscow, according to Bloomberg.
"It's being made solely to the disadvantage of Russia and to legalize the opportunity for Kyiv not to pay its debts," the minister said.
He said Russia has no choice but to "use all means to defend our rights as a creditor."
"We're preparing documents to submit to court," Siluanov said.
As UNIAN reported ealier, Russian President Vladimir Putin in November offered to spread out payments over three years.
The IMF has said it's up to Russia and Ukraine to negotiate directly.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the IMF's Executive Board on Tuesday approved a change that will allow the Washington-based fund to continue lending to countries that fail to pay debts held by other nations. Previously, the IMF prohibited itself from lending to borrowers that fall into so-called official arrears.
The change clears the way for the IMF to continue lending to Ukraine if it fails to repay a $3 billion bond Russia bought from the government of Ukrainian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych in December 2013, as reported.