Photo from UNIAN
The High Court in London on Thursday has completed the hearings of a suit Russia filed to recover its $3 bln loan issued to the government of the now-ousted ex-president Viktor Yanukovych.
The judge said the ruling would be handed down in due course, according to the BBC Russian Service.
While Russia provided the loan to the Yanukovych government at the time of the Maidan uprising, current Ukrainian authorities claim it was, in fact, a political bribe to the then-president.
Ukraine argued in court that, firstly, the loan was taken under pressure from Russia, which was seeking Ukraine's U-turn from its European integration path. Besides, having agreed to borrow money from Russia, the Yanukovych government violated the law on the budget, which had set the limit of borrowing for the year.
Read alsoUkraine's economy in 2017 to grow by 1.9% - UN forecastSecondly, from Ukraine's perspective, further actions of Russia – the annexation of Crimea and support for the war in the east of Ukraine – give Kyiv a legitimate reason to refuse repayment.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the London High England court on January 19 held the final hearing of the Russian application on the acceleration of issuing a ruling into Russia’s lawsuit against Ukraine over the $3 bln debt taken by the government of ex-president Viktor Yanukovych in the last months in power.
Read alsoEvidence of treason: UN confirms Yanukovych asked Kremlin to deploy troops in UkraineIt should be recalled that the Kremlin was dissatisfied with the decision of the International Monetary Fund to change its rules to allow lending to Ukraine without Kyiv paying back the so-called "Yanukovych debt."