European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen believes that Western sanctions are increasingly undermining Russia’s economy and that default is only a matter of time. She expressed this opinion to the newspaper BILD am Sonntag, quoted by BTA.
“Every week, sanctions are penetrating the Russian economy more and more: exports of goods to Russia have fallen by 70%,” said von der Leyen. She claims that “hundreds of large companies and thousands of experts have left the country, and Russia’s GDP is projected to fall by 11%.” According to her, “Russia’s state bankruptcy is only a matter of time.”
According to the Ministry of Finance of Russia, as of February 1, 2022, the country’s external public debt amounted to 59.5 billion dollars, including external bond debt – 38.97 billion dollars. In total, the Russian Federation has 15 existing bond loans with maturities from 2022 to 2047.