Russia is to halt bond sales for the rest of the year and take legal action if sanctions force it into a default on its debt, Russian Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov told Russian newspaper Izvestia.
Siluanov’s comments came days after the government breached the terms on two bonds by paying investors rubles instead of US dollars, and its credit grade at S&P Global Ratings was cut to “selective default.”
The threat of default has been hanging over Russia for weeks after it was hit with sanctions because of its invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian government said that it has the funds to