20 January 2016, 08:35 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Ukraine is holding consultations with the International Monetary Fund on the issue of restructuring its $3-billion debt to Russia, the deputy finance minister said Wednesday.
"The team which is in talks over debt restructuring is having consultations with colleagues from the International Monetary Fund," Artem Shevalev said.
Ukraine owes Russia $3 billion in Eurobonds. The debt was secured by the government of then-President Viktor Yanukovych in late 2013. Moscow has repeatedly stated that Kiev's failure to pay back the debt by the December 20, 2015, deadline should be classified as a default.
Moscow disagrees with Kiev's stance that the bond is part of an external commercial debt, arguing that the bond is a loan provided by one country to another.
Earlier this month, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia would be filing a lawsuit against Ukraine before February.
