Kiev Breached $3Bln Russian Loan Conditions as State Debt Topped 60% GDP

Kiev has actually breached conditions of the Russian loan, which requires that Ukraine’s state debt should not be more than 60 percent of the GDP, Russian finance minister said.

MOSCOW, January 10 (Sputnik) – Kiev breached the conditions on a $3 billion Russian loan once Ukraine's state debt topped 60 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Moscow may immediately demand the loan repayment, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Saturday.

“Ukraine has actually breached the conditions of the loan, which requires that the Ukraine’s state debt should not be more than 60 percent of the GDP,” Siluanov told journalists.

The minister added that Russia had all grounds “demand the immediate repayment of that loan, but that decision has not yet been made.”

Earlier in the day, a source in the Russian government told RIA Novosti that it was likely that Moscow would have to demand the early repayment of Kiev's debt in the near future.

Ukraine has been struggling to find a way out of the economic crisis tearing the country amid the military operation against the Donbas independence supporters. Kiev authorities have sought financial assistance from various countries and international financial institutions.

In December 2013, Russia made a decision to issue Ukraine a loan of $15 billion and bought Ukraine’s first Eurobonds worth $3 billion.

In November 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would not demand Kiev to make an early repayment on Eurobonds in a bid to help Ukraine to restore its financial system.