As of today, the United States has banned Russia from paying its debts at the expense of American banks, exacerbating the economic damage caused to Moscow by invading Ukraine, the US Treasury Department said.
“Today is the deadline for Russia to pay the next debt. As of today, the US Treasury Department will not allow the payment of debt in dollars from the accounts of the Russian government in US financial institutions,” a spokesman for the Finance Ministry told AFP.
Russia must choose between depleting its dollar reserves or defaulting.
Earlier, debt payments were released from an almost complete blockade that isolated Russia from the global financial system, and the country made several payments to foreign creditors through major US banks. The country has also been allowed to receive payments for oil and gas sales, although the United States has banned imports from Russia.