President Vladimir Putin insisted Thursday that Russian Federation has no regular troops in eastern Ukraine but admitted that some people have been carrying out military tasks there.
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Kiev has a 10-day grace period to pay the $3 billion debt to Moscow after the December 20 deadline. The change clears the way for the Washington-fund to continue lending to Ukraine if it fails to repay the bond.
The suspension would stay in place “until the acceptance of our restructuring proposals or the adoption of the relevant court decision”, Yatsenyuk said. “Effectively, there are only legal prospects now”.
Relations between Moscow and Kiev plummeted after the ouster of a Kremlin-backed president in early 2014, a year that also saw Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the start of fighting between government troops and pro-Russia rebels in east Ukraine.
Russia says the Ukraine-EU deal could lead to a flood of European imports across its own borders and damage the competitiveness of Russian exports to Ukraine.
“We are interested in resolving this conflict as soon as possible”, Putin said.
“If we really want to resolve the problem, let’s stop this, let’s work together”, he said. “Without growth – credits are not returned”. In February the organization approved a $17.5 billion aid package for Ukraine’s troubled economy.
The dispute is further complicated by fears that Ukraine is heading for a wider default after the parliament rejected a new tax code and the draft 2016 budget, both considered essential elements of the restructuring demanded by the International Monetary Fund as the price of its loan.
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“We are also now addressing the potential for increased cooperation for instance when it comes to special operations forces and also naval capabilities”, Stoltenberg said.
