KIEV: Ukraine has lifted temporary restrictions from its moratorium on the payment of its foreign public debts, including a $3 billion debt to Russia. According to an explanatory note to the relevant draft law, 242 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) voted for the bill. For the approval of the bill 226 votes would be enough. Initially, the temporary moratorium on payments on the foreign debt was valid until July 1, 2016.
According to the authors of the draft law, the abolition of the end date of the moratorium “will renew the legal basis for the search of new ways of restructuring the external debt.” According to representatives of “opposition bloc” adoption of this law means Ukraine’s default. “This is a unilateral refusal to fulfill the obligations on foreign loans. Voting for this law is the recognition of default,” deputy Alexander Dolzhenkov said.
According to another deputy of the opposition bloc Mikhail Papiev, the end date of the moratorium on the payment of foreign debt should be mandatory in the legislation of Ukraine. Earlier, Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine in the four years was to pay $30 bln of external debt, including the $3 bln debt to Moscow. On December 18, 2015, the government of Ukraine introduced the moratorium on the payment of Russian debt.
