U.K. court to hear Ukraine appeal on USD 3 bln Russian debt in January

The hearing on Ukraine’s appeal of the High Court of
London’s ruling on the USD 3 bln debt to the Russian state fund will convene in
London on Jan. 22-26, Russian MinFin official Sergey Storchak told journalists
on Dec. 11.

Recall, the High Court of London ruled on March 29 to reject
all the defense arguments of Ukraine in a dispute with Russia on this debt. The
Russian side demanded in the court immediate repayment of the debt that matured
in December 2015. The USD 3 bln debt was taken by Ukraine in late December 2013
in the form of a two-year Eurobond that was fully purchased by a Russian state
fund. This Eurobond was the only major debt that the Ukrainian government was
not able to restructure in 2015. Ukraine’s parliament imposed moratoria on
payments on this debt in May 2015 and April 2016.

Alexander Paraschiy: It looks like the U.K. court will reach a final ruling on this case by
the spring. Given that the High Court of London rejected all four arguments of
the Ukrainian side this year, it is unlikely that Ukraine’s appeal will change
much. But we continue to expect that in any outcome, Ukraine will pay nothing
to the Russian fund in the nearest years. It will continue to refer to its
commitments to the IMF, commitments to other Eurobond holders, as well as the
moratorium imposed by Ukraine’s parliament.