War in Ukraine: Moscow claims to have paid 117 million dollars in interest to Westerners – 20 Minutes

Russia assured on Thursday that it had paid a first installment of interest linked to bonds, immediately removing the possibility of a default, while its assets abroad are frozen by Western sanctions. The payment order on the payment of interest on bonds (…) with a total value of 117.2 million dollars (…) has been executed,” the Russian Finance Ministry said in a statement. The ministry specifies that it sent its funds to a “foreign bank” on March 14. First deadline in a long series Moscow had until March 16 to pay these 117 million dollars, the first deadline in a series of others expected in March -April. In retaliation for Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the portion of Russian reserves held abroad, around $300 billion, is frozen under Western sanctions. , and therefore threatened with default. Western sanctions crippled part of the country’s banking and financial system and caused a collapse of the rouble. A payment default cuts a state off from the financial markets and jeopardizes its return for years.