Russia says it has made debt repayments in dollars | Photo credits: Isabelle OHara / Shutterstock.com SML XL Size guide
April 29 (Reuters) – Russia’s Finance Ministry said on Friday it had issued a payment order to honor the settlement of maturities on dollar-denominated bonds to avoid a default, despite Moscow’s pledge not to pay them only in rubles.
The ministry said it had settled in dollars maturities on two sovereign bonds maturing in 2022 and 2042 for an amount of 564.8 million dollars and 84.4 million dollars.
Moscow had to meet these deadlines by May 4, before the expiration of a 30-day grace period.
The funds were sent to Citigroup, which acts as a paying agent, the finance ministry said without specifying who the bondholders were.
Russia has not experienced a default on its foreign debt since 1917. (Reportage Reuters, French version Laetitia Volga, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)