PARIS (Reuters) – Creditor governments in western Ukraine on Wednesday asked debt holders to accept Kyiv’s request for a two-year moratorium on its debt and said they would suspend payments.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian government issued a decision saying it would ask holders of international bonds to agree to a two-year delay in repaying their debts so that it could focus its scarce financial resources on fending off Russia.
“The approval of Ukraine’s proposals … would represent a great support for the government and people of Ukraine,” the creditor Western governments said in a statement issued by the French finance ministry.
The group, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, said it would secure a coordinated suspension of Kyiv’s debt service from August 1 until the end of 2023, possibly for an additional year.
“We strongly encourage all other official bilateral creditors to quickly reach an agreement with Ukraine on debt servicing,” the group added.
(Reporting by Lee Thomas)
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