Ukraine's finance minister says there is still a chance to avoid a court battle with Russia over $3 billion of debt that Kyiv defaulted on in December.
U.S.-born Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko spoke to Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Jaresko said Ukrainian and Russian Finance Ministry officials may meet "in the near future" to discuss the issue, Bloomberg reported on January 23.
She said she thinks "it’s still very possible to reach a consensual agreement out of court with Russia."
Russia bought a $3 billion Ukrainian bond late in 2013 as part of an aid package widely seen as a reward for then-President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to scrap plans for a landmark deal with the European Union and tighten ties with Russia instead.
But Yanukovych was pushed from power in February 2014 by huge protests over that decision. The debt became a bone of contention after Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula and supported separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s Finance Ministry said on January 1 that it had taken measures to start legal proceedings over the debt.
Based on reporting by Bloomberg and Interfax
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
Attack From Afghanistan Kills Chinese National In Tajikistan, Sources Say
2UEFA To Rule After Kosovar Players Walk Off In Romania Amid Claims Of 'Racist' Chants
3U.S. Reportedly Allows Ukraine To Strike Russia With Long-Range Weapons
4In Russia's War Economy, The Warning Lights Are Blinking
5RFE/RL Reveals Chilling New Details Of Bucha Massacre As Ukraine Marks 1,000 Days Of War
6No Smooth Sailing For Climate Activist Greta Thunberg In The Caucasus
7Could U.S. Long-Range Missiles Tip The Balance In The Ukraine War?
8Wider Europe Briefing: Georgia's Vanishing EU Dreams
9Ukraine Live Briefing: Kyiv Says Moscow Used ICBM
10At Least 21 Dead In Russian Missile Strikes In Ukraine's Odesa, Sumy
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.
