The amount of the payment was not disclosed, but earlier this month the Russian Finance Ministry said it had attempted to repay $649 million due on April 6 for bonds of an unnamed, but previously mentioned US bank, JPMorgan Chase.
At that time, heavy sanctions imposed on Russia’s military operations in Ukraine prevented payment from being accepted, so Moscow tried to repay the debt in rubles.
The Kremlin, which has repeatedly declared that it is able and ready to continue paying its debts, said that extraordinary events gave them the legal basis for payment in rubles, rather than dollars or euros.
However, investors and rating agencies disagreed and did not expect Russia to be able to convert the ruble into dollars before the 30-day grace period expires next week, leading to speculation that Moscow is heading towards a historic default on its debt, according to the Associated Press.
Russia has not defaulted on its foreign debt since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, when the collapse of the Russian Empire led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The governing body on credit risk swaps, insurance contracts designed to protect against default, had already ruled that Russia was in default.
Treasury officials, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Russia had used its foreign exchange reserves currently outside the country to make Friday’s payments.
It is noteworthy that since the United States imposed sanctions on the Russian Central Bank early in the conflict, Russia has only had the ability to use new revenue coming from activities such as oil and gas sales, or foreign currency reserves held outside the country.
The United States is trying to force Russia to use its foreign exchange reserves – or any revenue from oil and gas sales – in order to drain the country’s finances.
The Russian Finance Ministry said that it made the payments at a branch of Citigroup in the British capital, London.
A spokeswoman for the group declined to comment on whether the bank had processed that transaction.
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