On the rating actions

The Republic of Belarus is taking active measures to regulate the settlement of Eurobonds, it is forced to operate under unprecedented sanctions.

Some international rating agencies admit that 1) challenges with payments are technical, related to Western sanctions against Belarus, 2) the Belarusian authorities make every effort to carry out payments to investors, 3) the country is able and willing to fulfill financial obligations in full and on time.

Obviously, it is easier for some agencies to take the position that any actions of the Belarusian side will be admitted as "non-compliant with certain conditions".

There is a paradoxical situation. There is an issuer – the Ministry of Finance that is ready to cooperate with the holders directly to fulfill the obligations, despite the existing restrictions on payments through international payment systems. There are also the holders of Eurobonds who are open to deal with the issuer to realize their rights. However, there are also third parties, whose actions are definitely aimed at causing artificial default phenomena, following the general line of the West.

We note regretfully that not all "independent" international rating agencies today provide this independence, objectivity, and full consideration of all factors in their assessments.

The Ministry of Finance is confident that in unusual times, it is impossible to be limited to "standard practices and metrics" and the default judgments of individual rating agencies must be applied to the Western infrastructure, which has clearly demonstrated its indifference to investors.