(VOVWORLD) - Russia said Wednesday that it will start paying its foreign debt in rubles after the US ended an exemption allowing Russia to make the payments in US dollars held in Russia.
 Russia to make foreign debt payments in rubles (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The US Treasury announced Tuesday it was closing the escape clause to the drastic financial sanctions imposed on Russia.
Noting that the refusal to extend this license makes it impossible to continue servicing government foreign debt in US dollars, payments will be carried out in Russia’s currency, the Russia’s Finance Ministry said in a statement on Telegram. The ministry added that there would be a “possibility to later convert the payments into the original currency” using a Russian financial institution as the paying agent.