Joe Biden poised to force Russia into debt default
The TelegraphJoe Biden is poised to force Russia into its first international default for a century by making it impossible for the Kremlin to pay bond investors in dollars. The move will leave the Kremlin unable to avoid a default on its $20bn of international debt for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution, potentially making Russia a pariah on international lending markets for years to come in a serious long-term blow to its economy. A temporary exemption was granted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in late February, allowing Russia to continue to make payments to Western investors despite widespread sanctions. Speaking to senators, she said: “We want to make sure that we understand what the potential consequences and spillovers would be of allowing the licence to expire.” Russia narrowly avoided a default earlier this month, tapping its limited domestic foreign exchange reserves to meet $650m of overdue payments across two bonds.