Britain's High Court will next year hear a case Moscow has filed against Ukraine over a $3 billion eurobond loan, a deputy finance minister said Thursday. "The court hearing has been set for 17-20 January. The hearing will last three days," said deputy finance minister Sergei Storchak, quoted by Russian agencies. Russia granted Ukraine a $3 billion loan in late 2013, but former Moscow-backed leader Viktor Yanukovych who struck the deal was ousted by protests just two months later.

The new government in cash-strapped Ukraine has refused to pay back the money in full, saying Moscow had lent its ally the money on preferential terms as a bribe. Moscow, which is suffering from a protracted recession, however refused to grant a discount on reimbursement and instead filed the lawsuit in February after the two sides failed to reach a settlement.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2016