Fitch removes 'partial default' for Ukraine after debt deal
Washington, Nov 18, 2015 (AFP) -- Ratings agency Fitch removed its "partial default" rating for Ukraine Wednesday after the country completed its bond restructuring deal and resumed servicing its debts.
Fitch upgraded its rating to a still basement-level CCC, noting that the restructuring, agreed to in August but only completed last week, had allowed Kiev to issue new bonds against those defaulted on in October in a move to make the country's finances more sustainable.
The restructuring lengthens the payment period on Ukraine's massive debt and was a crucial component of the International Monetary Fund's $17.5 billion financial rescue of the country agreed to in March.
"Public debt sustainability has improved," Fitch said.
"Reduced refinancing needs and a pipeline of official financing give the public and external finances some breathing room and lower the risk of a sovereign debt crisis over the short- to medium-term."
Kiev still has to resolve a $3 billion debt dispute with Moscow, which could threaten the overall program.
Moscow has insisted that Ukraine repay by December the loans Russia made to then-president Viktor Yanukovych ahead of his ouster in February 2014.
On Monday, Russia said it has a new proposal on how to resolve the dispute, but gave no details.
Last week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk reiterated that Kiev would not offer Moscow "better conditions" than to private creditors.
Mosque Robbed In Annexed Crimea
SUDAK, Ukraine -- Unknown individuals have robbed a mosque in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia last year.
The Spiritual Directorate of Crimea’s Muslims said on November 19 that intruders broke into the Yangy Maale Mosque near the town of Sudak earlier in the week and stole the donation box.
According to the directorate, it was the eighth reported mosque robbery in Crimea since the beginning of 2015.
On November 14, unknown assailants threw dozens of bricks at the windows of a mosque in the village of Zavet-Leninsky.
And in September, posters depicting the Grand Mosque being constructed in Crimea’s capital, Simferopol, were vandalized.
The majority of Crimea’s Muslims are Crimean Tatars. Many of them have openly protested Crimea's annexation by Russia in March 2014.