Russia wants to sell debts of other countries
The Russian government in 2023 may receive the right to decide on the assignment of claims to foreign countries on their debts. These debts may be purchased by other countries or foreign legal entities that have not fallen under Western sanctions. This is reported by the RBC with reference to the materials to the draft budget.
It is noted that such a decision may be taken within the framework of Western sanctions against Russia, which restricted interstate payments between Russia and foreign countries in dollars and euros.
The new mechanism will allow the assignment of debts of foreign states or legal entities to Russia, which have become difficult to service because of the sanctions. The assignment of rights of claim may be made in favor of legal entities operating in the debtor country and not subject to sanctions.
It is assumed that such a measure will allow the government to make prompt decisions for stable receipts of debts to the federal budget.
On June 22, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the government to service the external public debt in rubles. For this purpose, the Ministry of Finance will be able to open ruble accounts in the name of foreign depositories, the beneficiaries of which will be the owners of the securities and other persons in accordance with the procedure established by the financial authority itself and the Central Bank. In this case the payment agent is the National Settlement Depository.
This settlement scheme was announced by the government in May, when the U.S. Ministry of Finance did not extend the general license, allowing Russia to service its debt in foreign currency.