Spokesman for U.S. Embassy in Russia:
Ukraine takes step toward debt-payment freeze:
Ukraine's cash-starved government says it has asked parliament to approve a law granting the cabinet "the right, if necessary, to stop payments to foreign debt holders."
In a statement on May 19, the government said, "In case of an attack by unscrupulous creditors on Ukraine, this moratorium will protect state assets and the state sector."
The move comes as Kyiv is trying to reach a deal with creditors by next month that would save it $15.3 billion over the coming four years and avoid default.
A successful agreement would guarantee the release of the next instalment of a $17.5 billion International Monetary Fund loan.
But the talks have soured over the past week, as bondholders repeated objections to any write-down on the principal owed. (Reuters, AFP)
NATO's Stoltenberg Tells Russia's Lavrov To End Support To Ukraine Rebels
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow must end its support for the separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Stoltenberg spoke in Brussels on May 19 after holding talks with Lavrov on the sidelines of the annual session of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers.
He also told reporters he had informed Lavrov that he was concerned about the large number of military exercises carried out by Russia at short notice.
"We also discussed the need for transparency, especially when we have an increased military presence along our borders.” He said. “For NATO it is important to do whatever we can to avoid that incidents are spiraling out of control."
Relations between NATO and Moscow have dropped to their lowest point since the Cold War after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.
The alliance also accuses Russia of backing separatists in Ukraine's east with troops and weapons, which Moscow denies.