The payments in question are $100 million in interest on two bonds, one denominated in dollars and the other in euros, that Russia was due to pay on May 27. Both passes had a 30-day grace period, which expired on Sunday.
Russia’s Finance Ministry said it made payments to its National Settlement Depository in euros and dollars, adding that it had met its obligations.
In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the fact that payments have been blocked by Euroclear due to Western sanctions on Russia “is not our problem.”
Clearinghouse Euroclear did not respond to a request for comment.
Some Taiwanese bondholders had not received payments by Monday, sources told Reuters.
With no exact deadline specified in the prospectus, lawyers say Russia could have until the end of the next business day to pay these holders.
Credit rating agencies often formally downgrade a country’s credit rating to reflect default, but this does not apply in the case of Russia, as most agencies no longer rate the country.
