Russia is expected to extend its deadline for paying debt payments until Wednesday tapping its domestic foreign currency reservesTo avoid a historical sovereign default.

Moscow sent the payment to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (the Treasury’s department responsible for administering and enforcing economic and trade sanctions). And Bloomberg reported TuesdayA minimum of one clearinghouse international had received $650 million worth of principal and coupon payments in connection with eurobonds that mature in 2022 and 2042.

The money was reportedly channeled towards the London branch. CitibankIt is not clear if the items will be delivered to their intended recipients within the time limit. Citibank’s spokeswoman was unable to respond.

Russian Finance Ministry reversed its original plan to pay off dollar-denominated bonds with Russian rubles in April. Major rating agencies said that this would be the first foreign debt default since 1917, if Moscow does not meet its obligations in foreign currencies by the May 4th grace period.

BlueBay Asset Management senior EM sovereign strategist Timothy Ash expressed surprise on Tuesday at the OFAC’s apparent inability to make payments after previous difficult messaging.

“OFAC will continue to explore all possibilities. “It still has the choice of not extending general licensure on May 27, but can act anytime to block Western institutions processing bond repayments,” he said via email to CNBC.

Ash stated that the most recent developments have shown Russia’s willingness to repay its creditors, and the ability to do so beyond the sanctions.

“OFAC has the power to force Russia into default at all times. “OFAC is still in control,” he said.

Following the publication of this article, the attempt was made to pay in rubles. U.S. Treasury Department refused in early April a waiver for Russian payments to foreign bondholders to go through despite U.S. sanctions, a special permission it had granted in March.

Nearly half of Russia’s large foreign currency reserves were frozen after punitive economic sanctions were imposed by world powers.

S&P Global Ratings downgraded Russia’s foreign-debt credit rating to “selective default” after its April 4 ruble payment, while prior to the attempted dollar payment, Moody’s had suggested that deviating from the payment terms of the original bond contracts by paying in rubles may be considered a default on May 4 unless remedied.