The building of the High court in London

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LONDON, March 29. /Offset. TASS Igor Brovarnik, Ilya Dmitriev/. London’s high court decided to consider summarily the case of sovereign debt of Ukraine to Russia in the amount of $3 billion. this was stated on Wednesday, judge William Blair, under whose chairmanship in January, held a three-day meeting on the issue.

Thus, in this intermediate decision procedure, the court supported the position of Russia, which was nastyware on accelerated consideration of the case. The Ukrainian side, by contrast, advocated a full-scale trial, which would include the study of the political aspects of this case.

What the judge said

“The Trustee is entitled to expedited review of the case,” said the judge, reading a decision. Of the Russian Federation in court representing the company Debenture Trust Corporation PLC .

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The judge pointed to the fact that now have to decide how it will be further consideration of the case. “Needs to be defined in terms of the verdict, and there are a number of consequential issues that will the court,” said William Blair attributable elder brother, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who headed the British government from 1997 to 2007.

The judge said that you have carefully studied the testimony of the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Alexander danyluk that the lawsuit is actually a “tool of pressure on Kyiv” in a number of actions such as “military occupation, destruction of property, illegal expropriation of assets and the appalling humanitarian consequences.” On this basis, the Ukrainian side demanded full and detailed consideration of the case by the High court in London.

“To these arguments, the Finance Minister danyluk made a special emphasis during the presentation of evidence, and the court has carefully studied them,” says the decision. However, the court held that, given that the lawsuit was filed on payment of debt obligations, these issues are not within its jurisdiction. “In such circumstances, it would be wrong to decide that this case has been considered in the framework of a proper judicial process”, – emphasized in the decision.

“Deeply flawed” arguments

In the previous hearings of the Russian Federation pointed to the fact that the duty, no doubt, is a sovereign and payable. The arguments of the Ukraine, it was called “deeply flawed” and intended to force the court to discuss matters that are not in its jurisdiction.
The judge gave no timeline, how long it will take time. However, the Ukrainian side has already announced that he will appeal the interim decision.

“We appeal,” said TASS representative of the legal company Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which represents the interests of the defendant.

The appeal, as reported by one of the experts who took part in the meeting “can take from six to nine months.”

According to Finance Minister Alexander Danilyuk, Ukraine will continue to defend its position in a London court on a debt of Russia. “Today’s decision is the first step. Ukraine received the judge’s permission to appeal. At the next meeting, which will be no earlier than the end of April, the Ukrainian side will continue to defend its position and to protect the public interest,” he said.

Sovereign debt

In December 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych agreed that Moscow will give Kiev a loan of $15 billion through the placement of Ukrainian securities. The debt was issued in the form of Eurobonds under English law. Within the program bonds for $3 billion was placed on the Irish stock exchange on 20 December 2013 and bought by Russia at the expense of the national welfare Fund.

See also

Ukraine has not made contact with Russia after a meeting of the London court on the debt

The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation: the argument of Kyiv in the case of the debt to Moscow is not tenable

The Finance Ministry is in favour of any contacts with Ukraine to discuss payment of the debt

Media: Ukraine because of debts can have a voice in the UN General Assembly

The government of Ukraine on 18 December 2015 imposed a moratorium on the payment of the debt of the Russian Federation and former Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk motivated by the fact that Russia has refused to sign the agreement on debt restructuring on a par with private creditors. However, the day before, on 17 December, the IMF Board of Directors recognized the status of Ukraine’s debt to Russia is sovereign. This means that the liability to pay a debt incurred by the government-borrower.

Russia appealed to the High court in London in February 2016 with a lawsuit to recover Ukraine debt. On December 21 2015, the debt was $3 billion, plus the non-payment of the last coupon in the amount of $75 million, and every day the debt grows by $683 thousand for interest expense, stated in the lawsuit.

The Russian side has repeatedly invited Ukraine to resolve this issue at the negotiating table, but it never happened due to the fact that Ukraine does not recognize the sovereign debt.