Belarus wants to negotiate with Russia on debt refinancing

Belarus intends to reach an agreement with Russia on refinancing part of its debt, Finance Minister Yury Seliverstov said on the Belarus 1 TV channel.

He noted that Russia traditionally accounts for 70% of Belarus’ borrowings, and discussion of a further plan is necessary due to the fact that access to the European lending market is closed for the republic due to sanctions.

“We have obligations to repay debts to the EFSD (Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development), there are interstate loans that we took from Russia under various circumstances, there is a decision that we can borrow for the budget on the Russian stock exchange instead of the European institutions that were brought against us sanctions. Solutions are being worked out: this is not about increasing borrowing, but about refinancing the debts that we already had. Not 100%, but in some part, to make it easier for us to repay and service,” said Seliverstov (quote according to RIA Novosti).

According to the minister, the leaders of the two countries have already discussed this issue and the decision was made, now it is necessary to “formulate agreements.”

November 16, 2022 the press service of the government of Belarus in its Telegram channel reportedthat the parties signed an agreement on the allocation of a loan to the Belarusian side for 105 billion rubles. for the implementation of import substitution projects.

At the end of July 2022, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Belarus Yury Chebotar said that both countries had identified a list of joint import substitution projects with a funding volume of $1.3 billion.

Earlier, Belarus offered Russia joint investment projects to replace imports under Western sanctions. As part of the agreements with the Russian President, Moscow will allocate $1.5 billion for Minsk’s participation in import substitution programs, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said.

At the end of 2021, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Nikolai Snopkov informedthat in 2022 Belarus will have to pay off $3.3 billion, and in 2023 – $4.7 billion of external debts, including servicing.