Ukraine’s parliament has passed a bill granting the government the authority to suspend foreign debt payments. The bill’s stated aim is to protect state assets in case of an “attack” from dishonest lenders, and to help the ailing economy out of crisis, RT reported. The bill passed by a 246-4 vote just hours after it had been submitted to parliament. The bill still needs to be signed by Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko to come into effect. "To protect the interests of Ukrainian people, the government of Ukraine submits to the Verkhovna Rada Wednesday the draft laws, those enabling the government to suspend payments on certain external public debts and guaranteed by the government debts, as specified in the Annex to the relevant Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers. And in case of an attack from unscrupulous creditors to Ukraine, the moratorium will protect the assets of the state and of the public sector," a statement on the Cabinet website said.
