Russia is offering creditors of its debt the option of early repayment of a line of "eurobonds" issued in dollars, which reached maturity next week. The Finance Ministry is only willing to pay in rubles.

The line of "eurobonds" in question concerns debt in dollars and currently represents two billion dollars in bonds. In a statement from Moscow, cited by Bloomberg and the newspaper Negócios, the Finance Ministry said it intended to carry out a buyback operation that will run until the end of the day on March 30.

He did not indicate whether the entire line will be covered, but made it clear that investors who accept will be paid at 100% (without any haircut) for the bonds, which mature on April 4. There will, however, be losses for these creditors as they bought dollars and will now receive rubles (at the March 31 rate).

Despite the warnings that have been issued by the rating agencies since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has managed to avoid default and continues to meet its public debt service obligations, including to foreign investors.

Alongside the announcement of the buyback, the Russian Finance Ministry assured on Tuesday that it has paid a coupon, for dollar bonds maturing in 2035, worth $102 million.

Russia has a debt of $40 billion in bonds denominated in dollars and euros, half of which is held by foreign investors.

Moscow's debt transactions have been under the watchful eye of markets around the world in the wake of economic sanctions by Western countries due to the military invasion of Ukraine. If it fails to pay investors, it would be the first time the country has defaulted on its foreign debt since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.