Russia plans to settle its Eurobond obligations using a mechanism similar to the scheme used to pay for Russian gas in rubles, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.
In order to receive payments, Eurobond holders will have to open foreign currency and ruble accounts at a Russian bank, Siluanov told the Vedomosti newspaper.
"As it happens with paying for gas in rubles: we are credited with foreign currency, here it is exchanged for rubles on behalf of (the gas buyer), and this is how the payment takes place. The Eurobond settlement mechanism will operate in the same way, only in the other direction," the newspaper cites him as saying.
Russia will be able to bypass Western payment infrastructure using this system, with payments being made through Russia's National Settlement Depository, the minister added.
Earlier, Siluanov said that Moscow will continue to service its external debt in rubles, defending its role as a reliable borrower by all possible means.
