Kyiv won’t repay debt because ‘they are crooks’ – Russian PM
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday he did not believe Kyiv would repay a $3 billion debt (2 billion pound) to Russia because Ukrainian officials are “crooks.”
He also said if Ukraine does not repay the $3 billion, Moscow would seek a declaration of default on all other Ukrainian debt to Russia.
“I have the sense that they won’t pay it back because they’re crooks,” Medvedev said in an interview on state television when asked about Kyiv’s debt.
Asked about a decision by the International Monetary Fund to soften lending rules for countries that don’t repay official debt, Medvedev said if the fund is not reformed soon, trust in it will be undermined.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; writing by Christian Lowe; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)