Russia reschedules Belarus’ debt for 5-6 years

Russia has rescheduled payments under Russian government loans for five to six years, Belarusian Finance Minister Yuri Seliverstov said.

"It was proposed to reschedule some payments for more comfortable dates that are mutually acceptable for our countries, to postpone them from five to six years. As a matter of fact, it will make it possible for us not to raise resources to service and repay our debts with our partners from Russia," he said in an interview with the Belarus-1 television channel.

According to Seliverstov, part of the released funds will go to "support those economic sectors that will help <…> improve bilateral trade, especially in this sanction period."

He also said that Minsk and Moscow are not looking at using the Russian ruble as a common currency. "As a matter of fact, it has never been discussed directly. The matter is that we should use the currencies our countries have in foreign trade," he said. "I am sure the current situation will push many to refuse from the use of the dollar. I am sure that we will soon begin to use either national currencies or the Russian ruble".