CARACAS, Venezuela — With the threat of default looming over Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro said late Thursday that his government would initiate a restructuring and refinancing of the country’s foreign debt.

The announcement came at the deadline for a $1.2 billion payment by the state oil company on a maturing bond, which Mr. Maduro said his government would instead deliver on Friday.

Speaking on national television, Mr. Maduro said that his government was fighting “a battle for the financial stability and tranquillity of Venezuela.”

“We’re going to win this battle,” he vowed.

The move is an acknowledgment of how serious the government’s financial problems have become, and throws further into doubt the future of the country, which has been grappling with an economic crisis that has caused dire shortages of food and medicine.