Russia's Sovereign Debt Payment Sent, Awaiting Clearance, Finance Minister Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow has all the necessary funds to fulfill its sovereign debt obligations and has already made the scheduled transaction, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday, adding that at this point the ability to pay in foreign currency does not depend on Russia due to sanctions.

On Wednesday, Russia was to pay coupons on two issues of its sovereign Eurobonds in the amount of $117.2 million, the first payment on its sovereign debt since a part of its reserves were frozen under anti-Russian sanctions. The Russian Finance Ministry said on Monday that it had already sent a payment order for the coupon payment.

"The ability or inability to fulfill our obligations in foreign currencies is not up to us, we have the money, we have made the payment, now the ball is in America's court," Siluanov told RT Arabic.

The minister added that Washington should clarify whether it is possible to make these transactions from ruble accounts.

"Russia has the necessary money on accounts in foreign currencies, and is also capable of paying in rubles," Siluanov said.

The minister noted that there is still no information as to whether the payment has reached the designated recipients.

"The payment is being processed at the moment, therefore we do not have any information whether it has been cleared or not. It has not cleared yet. But we do know that the bank is currently negotiating with OFAC [US Office of Foreign Assets Control], it has requested from us the necessary information about the payment's purpose. Therefore, we will wait for the information from the bank holding our Nostro account," Siluanov said.

The minister said that there is a risk that the payment will not reach the final recipients.