Moscow says two debt payments have been blocked

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Sanctions-hit Russia announced on Monday that two of its debt payments had not been transferred to creditors, but it denied that this constituted a default.

According to the Russian finance ministry, international settlement and clearing systems "received funds in full in advance," but the payments were not transferred to the final recipients due to "the actions of third parties."

Kremlin says 'no grounds' to speak of Russia debt default 

The Kremlin insisted Monday that there were "no grounds" to say Russia had defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign debt, as the West slapped Russia with sanctions. 

"There are no grounds to call this situation a default," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters after a key payment deadline expired Sunday.  "These claims about default, they are absolutely wrong," he said, adding that Russia settled the debt in May. 

Russia defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in more than a century, according to Bloomberg News, after the grace period on some $100 million in interest payments due Sunday expired.

The Russian government has accused the West of attempting to artificially force Moscow into default, and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has dismissed the situation as a "farce."

Western sanctions against Russia have effectively cut the country off from the international financial system, making it difficult for Moscow to service its debt.

Russia was set to make its first interest payment on its foreign debt in March, the first since the West imposed sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine.

Moscow is due to pay $117 million on two dollar-denominated bonds.

Sanctions imposed in response to Russia's special operation in Ukraine have targeted $300 billion of the country's foreign currency reserves kept overseas. 

The Finance Ministry declared earlier this week that it had sent a payment order for "a total of $117.2 million," indicating a desire to pay.