Of course, there is then the issue of government being acually willing to reimburse its creditors, which affect the state rating. Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Gazprom had a better rating than Russia when it was using its gas export contracts as collateral, because the only way it could default on that debt was to stop delivering gas, a much more violent step nowadays, diplomatically, than just defaulting on payments.
That's why we were happy to lend money to Gazprom, effectively taking Gaz de France risk while being paid margins sized on Russian risk (then - Russian risk today pays very little). Ah, good ol' times... In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
