WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Russia is the sole final holder of Ukraine's bonds and does not plan to restructure the $3 billion debt, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has stressed.
In December 2013, Russia decided to issue a $15-billion loan to Ukraine and bought Ukraine's first Eurobonds in the amount of $3 billion. The rest of the loan was cancelled following the regime change in Kiev in February, 2014.
In February, Siluanov stated that Russia was not ready to restructure Ukraine's debt.
"Speculation regarding the status of the debt is simply inappropriate," Siluanov said on Friday, adding that "there can be no doubts" that the Russian Federation is the final holder of Ukraine's Eurobonds issued on December, 2013, and the $3 billion are "exclusively state debt."
Earlier, Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said it was unclear who was the holder of the bonds and thus the $3 billion could be either state or commercial debt.
"It is strange to hear such statements. First of all, they had to address the Russian Federation as the holder of the bonds and find out where those papers are," Siluanov said.
In March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) endorsed a four-year $17.5 billion financial assistance package for Ukraine.
Ukraine will receive some $10 billion of the IMF funds in 2015, which is part of the $40-billion package of overall international aid.
