The Izvestia newspaper reported on Monday that Russia's finance minister said the country would take legal action if it were forced to default on its debt.
Russia is facing a historic default after the US Treasury stopped the country from making a dollar payment to international bondholders. Russia has not had a problem with its foreign debt in more than a century.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the pro-Krelim Izvestia in an interview that they will sue if investors don't receive their payments. He didn't say what actions he was talking about.
Russia's foreign currency debt payments are hampered by sanctions. Russia was able to meet its debt obligations until last Monday, when the US blocked its dollar payments. The money was transferred in rubles.
If an economic and financial war is waged against our country, we are forced to respond and fulfill all of our obligations. Siluanov told Izvestia that if it is not possible to do it in foreign currency, we do it in rubles.
Siluanov echoed the sentiment that the West was trying to engineer an "artificial default" with its sanctions.
Siluanov said that the Russian Federation tried in good faith to pay off their debts.
S&P Global lowered Russia's foreign currency payments on Friday.
S&P Global doesn't expect investors to be able to convert the ruble payments into dollars equivalent to the original amount, or that the government will convert those payments within a 30-day grace period.
The ratings agency said it expects sanctions against Russia to be intensified in the coming weeks.
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