Ukraine's refusal to pay off its $3 billion debt carries appropriate consequences for Kiev's financial obligations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, adding that Moscow reserves the legal right to respond with legal measures.
Ukraine's Finance Minister Oleksandr Danilyuk outlined Kiev's stance "that we shouldn't return the money" in an interview with local television earlier in the day, citing the reasoning that "it was a political credit which we were forced to take."
"No decision has been taken. Russia consistently articulates its position. We believe this is sovereign, public debt with the corresponding consequences for the financial obligations of Ukraine," Peskov told reporters.
Asked whether Moscow planned to change tactics in light of the new development, he said "Russia reserves the right to respond accordingly in the legal and international level in order to protect its sovereign commercial interests."
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