European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today that Russian state bankruptcy is only a matter of time due to Western sanctions imposed for invading Ukraine.

Von der Leyen told the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, quoted by the official Russian news agency TASS that the sanctions are increasingly affecting the Russian economy, "week after week," and that "exports of goods to Russia have fallen by 70%."

"Hundreds of large companies and thousands of specialists have left the country. The Gross Domestic Product in Russia, according to current forecasts, will decrease by 11%," said the German politician quoted by the same newspaper.

According to Russian Finance Ministry data cited by TASS, Russia's foreign public debt amounts to $59.5 billion, corresponding to 20% of public debt.

In total, the Russian Federation has 15 active bond loans with maturities between 2022 and 2047.

In response to the sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized the use of the national currency, the ruble, to pay foreign currency debts to "unfriendly countries," i.e., those that have imposed sanctions on Moscow.

According to the decree quoted by TASS, debtor companies or the state itself can open an account in Russian banks on behalf of a foreign creditor and transfer payments in rubles at the Central Bank's exchange rate on the day of payment.

Creditors of countries that have not imposed sanctions can receive payments in euros or dollars if the Russian debtor has special authorization to do so.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov acknowledged this week that the freezing of Russian state foreign currency accounts as a result of international sanctions makes it difficult to meet debt obligations.

"There are difficulties in meeting sovereign debt obligations only because of the lack of access to our foreign currency accounts," Siluanov said in a letter sent to his Brazilian counterpart, Paulo Guedes.

In the letter, published by the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, Siluanov asked for Brazil's diplomatic support at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the G20 to avoid "attempts at discrimination in international financial institutions and multilateral forums.

"Almost half of the Russian Federation's international reserves have been frozen, foreign trade transactions are blocked, including those with our partners from emerging market economies," the Russian minister explained.

Siluanov said earlier, according to TASS, that Russia would only pay off its foreign currency debt if its foreign accounts were unfrozen.

A country is considered to be in default when it is unable to fulfill the commitments it has made to creditors.

On April 9, the financial rating agency S&P Global Ratings downgraded Russia's rating for its foreign currency payments to the "selective default" level after Moscow turned to rubles to pay off a dollar debt.

In a recent interview with a Russian newspaper, Siluanov said that Russia will turn to the courts if it is found in default by the West, although without specifying which legal body he was referring to.