OREANDA-NEWS. “At the beginning of 2014 the total external debt of Ukraine had amounted US$73.1 billion. This was the country we received almost two years ago,” stressed Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Thursday, October 15, at a briefing at the House of Government. “As of September 1 of the current year, sovereign and sovereign guaranteed debt made up US$70.5 billion”.

The Prime Minister noted it was an answer to the question whether external debts of the country were growing: “Despite the fact that we receive financial aid from our Western partners, that we receive additional financial resource, we manage to repay our debts and reduce the total amount of the sovereign and sovereign guaranteed debt”.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded that the government team had been engaged in the negotiations on restructuring and cancellation of the external debt in the past six months: “The Ukrainian Parliament could have supported with the constitutional majority the law on restructuring of external debts of Ukraine"

The Ministry of Finance announced that on 14 October 2015 holders of all sovereign and sovereign guaranteed bonds, with the exception of the December 2015 USD3bn bond, passed an Extraordinary Resolution approving the proposed restructuring.

Settlement of the exchange offer for the 13 series of bonds which was yesterday approved would result in the restructuring of c.US$15bn of Ukraine’s external debt, achieve a 20% debt reduction for Ukraine (c.US$3bn) and allow Ukraine to avoid paying any of the previously scheduled US$8.5bn of principal falling due under such bonds during the next four years.

The Russian Federation was the only country that didn’t participate in the voting of the Committee of Creditors, to reduce an overall debt of Ukraine by US$3 billion. On October 29, 2015 there is due another meeting of bondholders to be paid off in December of 2015.

“On October 29 we offer to Russia once again to take a decision whether they want to get the terms we proposed to all creditors, or they consider themselves unique. If they believe they are unique - we're ready for legal proceedings with the Russian Federation,” summed up the Prime Minister of Ukraine.