Russia can afford refinancing Belarus’ $1bn debt - expert
<p> MINSK, Aug 28 - PrimePress. Russia can afford refinancing Belarus’ $1 billion debt, an amount that looks like a “drop in the ocean” on the scale of the country’s foreign currency reserves, reckons Vasily Karpunin of Russia’s BCS Broker. </p> <p> </p> <p> As previously reported, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on August 25 that Russia would consider a proposal to refinance Belarus’ debt, if Minsk submitted a relevant application. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on August 27 that he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to refinance the state debt to Russia in the amount of $1 billion. </p> <p> </p> <p> “It is an insignificant amount for Russia. For example, at an auction to place federal loan bonds this week, the Ministry of Finance raised just over $1 billion. The auctions are held every week. On the scale of the country’s gold reserves of 590 billion dollars, 1 billion dollars looks like a drop in the ocean,” Karpunin told Prime. </p> <p> </p> <p> He noted that refinancing implies the extension of debt obligations for a longer period with new conditions. “This is not a new debt,” the expert explained. End </p> <p> </p>
2020-08-29
Primepress
MINSK, Aug 28 - PrimePress. Russia can afford refinancing Belarus’ $1 billion debt, an amount that looks like a “drop in the ocean” on the scale of the country’s foreign currency reserves, reckons Vasily Karpunin of Russia’s BCS Broker.
As previously reported, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced on August 25 that Russia would consider a proposal to refinance Belarus’ debt, if Minsk submitted a relevant application. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said on August 27 that he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin to refinance the state debt to Russia in the amount of $1 billion.
“It is an insignificant amount for Russia. For example, at an auction to place federal loan bonds this week, the Ministry of Finance raised just over $1 billion. The auctions are held every week. On the scale of the country’s gold reserves of 590 billion dollars, 1 billion dollars looks like a drop in the ocean,” Karpunin told Prime.
He noted that refinancing implies the extension of debt obligations for a longer period with new conditions. “This is not a new debt,” the expert explained. End