Speaking on air of TV channel “Russia 1” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov disclosed the details of loans that Belarus will receive. A piece of the interview was published on Vesti’s Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/vesti_news/status/1307648701079465984
According to Siluanov, most of the loan will go to repay the debt to the state corporation Gazprom.
“The debt to Gazprom is a little less than $ 330 million, and the amount of the loan that we are discussing from the Eurasian Fund is $ 500 million. Full settlement to our gas company,” the minister said.
He stressed that providing Belarus with a $ 1.5 billion loan is beneficial for Russia, since such actions support the economies of both countries, providing settlements of Belarusian companies to Russian suppliers.
On September 14, in Sochi, Alyaksandr Lukashenka agreed with Vladimir Putin on the allocation of another loan to Belarus in the amount of $ 1.5 billion. Russia plans to provide Belarus with a loan of $ 500 million this year and another similar loan in 2021. In addition, Russia is initiating a $ 500 million foreign currency loan to Belarus through the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) this year.
Thus, by the end of 2020, Belarus will receive only $ 1 billion, and another $ 500 million next year. The loan from the EFSD will be denominated in dollars, and the funds from Russia will come in rubles.
