Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said Russia's default on international payments could result in hyperinflation in Europe and its own default.

He said, "Well, please try" and pointed to "two apparent things" in response to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's statement that Russia's default is only a matter of time.

"Russia’s default may entail Europe’s default, both moral and, quite possibly, tangible," he wrote on his Telegram channel. In other words, he added, the financial system of the European Union is not very stable; people are losing faith in it.

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Moreover, the European Union’s authorities should expect "a strong gratitude from rank and file Europeans for the hyperinflation that cannot be blamed on vile Russians, for the lack of elementary foods in shops and for the influx of refugees, which will provoke a wave of force crimes," he wrote.

"In this case, the people in Brussels will have to change their rhetoric. Otherwise, stinky fires of tires will be burning in the streets of European cities in the glory of Maidan heroes."

Russia's GDP could drop 11%: von der Leyen

As for von der Leyen’s statements, they "are not about the sufferings of emaciated people, not about the end of the special military operation, not about the long-hoped-for peace in Ukraine, but Russia’s foreign payments default," he noted.

"That’s what they have been dreaming of! This is the European Union’s core strategy. This is what the masochists from Brussels and their overseas playmates really want," he added.

von der Leyen said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag, that the Western sanctions are shaking Russia’s economy, with hundreds of large companies and thousands of experts leaving Russia and its GDP expected to drop by 11% Russia’s default is a matter of time.

The Russian finance ministry stated that Russia's foreign debt was $59.5 billion as of February 1, 2022, including $38.97 billion in foreign bonded loans. Today, Russia has 15 bonded loans with a maturity period that extends from 2002 to 2047. 

Russia is expected to repay its debts in foreign currencies only when the assets are unblocked, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier. In case of any refusal or lack of response, Russia intends to repay and service all its foreign liabilities in rubles. 

However, in this event, there will be a significant shift in the terms of servicing Russia's bonded debt, which will very certainly be construed as a default.

Russia's officials have frequently stated that there are no real reasons for the country to fail and that such a situation could only be manufactured artificially.