The possibility of technical default remains – the Minister

The possibility of the Ukrainian government introducing the moratorium on the payment of external debt currently remains.

This was stated on Wednesday in Washington, by the Finance Minister of Ukraine Natalia Jaresko, the Ukrinform reported.

"Obviously, it (the moratorium – Ed.) can be introduced, theoretically it may happen" – the head of the Ministry of Finance said.

She noted that the Ukrainian government is working to achieve progress in the agreements with creditors.

At the same time, she said, even if such a moratorium is announced, it should not affect the hryvnia exchange rate.

"In my opinion, there should not be any negative impact on the hryvnia. On the contrary, arithmetically speaking, the money, the currency, which would have to be used for payments, would leave the country, and with the suspension of payments it is left in the country, arithmetically it even better for the hryvnia," – Jaresko said.

However, in her opinion, it is clear there is also a psychological effect in this situation.

"And so I ask everyone not to exaggerate the importance that this technical default could have on our people. It does not directly impact the banking system, it does not affect our citizens’ accounts in the banks. This is not Greece, not the same situation", – the Minister of Finance said.

As is known, on June 25, the Minister of Finance, after the ministerial meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce and the European Business Association, said that in late July Ukraine may declare a default.

Earlier Jaresko stated that the fate of the next tranche of the IMF depends on how the Parliament fulfills obligations to the IMF.

Ukrainska Pravda