Russia adopts list of “hostile” countries to be reimbursed in rubles

The Russian authorities established a list of countries “hostile” to the country, to which individuals and companies will be able to repay their debts in rubles, a currency that has lost 45% of its value since January, the government said on Monday.

This list of countries, prepared after a presidential decree on Friday that refers to a “provisional procedure”, includes, among others, countries of the European Union (EU), Australia, the United States, Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Japan.

For this, the debtor may ask a Russian bank to create a special account in rubles in the name of the foreign creditor and send him a payment in Russian currency for the amount due, at the exchange rate of the day in question, as indicated by the Central Bank. .

This measure will apply to payments exceeding 10 million rubles per month.

This is one of the first Russian responses to the unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia by numerous foreign countries following its military intervention in Ukraine.

The sanctions caused the historical depreciation of the ruble and are accompanied by the freezing of part of the funds of the authorities abroad, which prevents the Central Bank from supporting the Russian currency.

The Russian currency was exchanged this Monday morning at 137.70 rubles per dollar. Since January 1, it has lost 45% of its value.

hostile countries

The list, in addition to states, also includes foreign territories that, according to Moscow, commit hostile actions against the Russian Federation, Russian companies and citizens.

According to Interfax, the order with the listing has been signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and is part of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation issued on March 5, 2022 “On the temporary procedure for fulfilling obligations to certain foreign creditors” .

According to this document, the list includes the 27 member states of the European Union, who have approved strong sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

But in addition, others are defined as hostile countries such as Australia, Albania, Andorra, Great Britain (including the island of Jersey and other overseas territories that it controls: such as the island of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar), Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Also in the relationship are Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, Taiwan, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan and Ukraine itself.

Source: AFP and EFE