Russia has agreed to restructure Ukraine’s Eurobonds worth USD 3 billion on its own terms. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the restructuring terms provide for postponement of repayment to the period of 2016-2018 at USD 1 billion per year, lb.ua reports.
"We not only agreed to restructure Ukraine’s debt, we also offered restructuring terms that are better than the one proposed to us by the IMF. We were asked to postpone the payment to next year. I said that we were ready to go for deeper restructuring: we are ready to go for not receiving any money this year and receiving USD 1 billion next year, another USD 1 billion in 2017, and another USD 1 billion in 2018," the Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying.
In return, Russia is demanding guarantees on the Ukrainian debt.
"We have asked for such guarantees from the government of the United States, the European Union, or a reputable international financial institution. If our partners believe that Ukraine’s solvency will improve - and this is what they are telling us - it means they believe in it. If they believe in it, then let them provide guarantees. If they cannot provide guarantees, it means that they do not believe in the future of the Ukrainian economy," he said.
Putin also said that he held talks on this issue with United States President Barack Obama and the International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Christine Lagarde.
As reported, Russia acquired Ukrainian Eurobonds worth USD 3 billion in December 2013. The Eurobonds were issued by the government of then-president Viktor Yanukovych. Repayment of the Eurobonds is due in December 2015. Ukraine has asked Russia to restructure this debt together with its debt to commercial creditors, but Russian said it considered it a sovereign debt and refused to restructure it.
According to Ukrainian officials, the agreement between Ukraine and its private creditors stipulates that Russia will not be able to obtain better conditions compared to them. The private creditors agreed to write off 20% of Ukraine’s debt and delay repayment of the remaining debt for four years.
