Russia on Monday (7/3) said all deals with companies and individuals from hostile countries must be approved by government commissions.
Citing Al Jazeera, Moscow issued a list of countries and territories that took "unfriendly actions" against Russian states, companies and citizens, following severe economic sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
The list follows President Vladimir Putin's decision on March 5, which allowed the Russian government, companies and citizens to temporarily pay foreign currency debts to foreign creditors from "hostile countries" in rubles.
According to a statement by the Russian Government, the following is a list of unfriendly countries:
- Albania
- United States of America
- Andorra
- Australia
- United Kingdom, including Jersey, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar
- Iceland
- North Macedonia
- Micronesia
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- European Union member countries
- Japan
- Canada
- South Korea
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
- San Marino
- New Zealand
- Singapore
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Ukraine
To make these payments, the Russian government says, debtors must open a special type of ruble account with a Russian bank.
Then, transfer the ruble equivalent to the amount of foreign currency owed, according to the official exchange rate of the central bank on the day of payment.
This temporary arrangement to pay off foreign debt applies to payments in excess of 10 million rubles, or about US$ 76,000 per month.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine drew an angry response from the international community, with the European Union, UK and US, among others, imposing various economic sanctions on Moscow.
