(VOVWORLD) - Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Sunday that Russia will make all external debt payments in foreign currencies, regardless of sanctions, adding that Russia is reliable and will fulfill all obligations.
 Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov (Photo: EPA/VNA) |
Siluanov said the West is trying to force Russia to default on its sovereign debt.
Last month, Russia paid off external creditors in foreign currencies in spite of sanctions and its frozen reserves.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out an artificially organized default situation in case of Russia’s external debt repayment, though there are no grounds for it, said Russian New Agency TASS on Wednesday.
Russia announced Wednesday an increase of 273 billion rubles (3.3 billion USD) reserve fund to stabilize its economy in the face of foreign sanctions. The largest source of the increase was additional oil and gas revenues received in the first quarter of 2022, the government said in a statement.