May 22, 2015

Step toward debt-payment freeze

More

 KYIV – Ukraine’s cash-starved government asked the Verkhovna Rada to approve a law granting the Cabinet “the right, if necessary, to stop payments to foreign debt holders.” In a statement on May 19, the government said, “In case of an attack by unscrupulous creditors on Ukraine, this moratorium will protect state assets and the state sector.” The law was passed that same day. The move comes as Kyiv is trying to reach a deal with creditors by next month that would save it $15.3 billion over the coming four years and avoid default. A successful agreement would guarantee the release of the next installment of a $17.5 billion International Monetary Fund loan. But the talks have soured over the past week, as bondholders repeated objections to any write-down on the principal owed. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Reuters and Agence-France-Presse)

Comments are closed.