Russia is ready to return 43 billion dollars to the Paris club even without a discount

Russia showed readiness to repay the debt to the Paris Club of independent creditors ahead of schedule. Igor Shuvalov, senior assistant to President Vladimir Putin, said that Russia would have won by paying off a debt of $ 43 billion in front of the Paris club, even if it does not receive a discount that representatives of Russia, primarily the head of the Ministry of Finance, Alexei Kudrin, try to achieve.

Lenders consider the discount unacceptable, and therefore Shuvalov’s words were regarded as “encouraging,” reports The Financial Times , the article published by Inopressa .

Shuvalov’s statement was made after the Ministry of Finance of the EU issued a decision to mitigate the Covenant Continuity on stability and growth of the EU, which establishes maximum indicators for the debts and budget deficits for the participating countries, recalls FT. Germany, which is the main creditor of Russia in the Paris Club, is trying to comply with the conditions of the package regarding the budget deficit, and therefore strives to increase income.

Last year, Germany put Russia in an unpleasant position, transferring 5 billion euros of Russian debt to quoted securities. It was beneficial to Germany, but the cost of Russian bonds decreased because of this. Russia, whose state budget increased due to high oil prices, trying to prevent such steps in the future, suggested that the Parisian club pay ahead of schedule.

However, the mitigation of the conditions provides Germany with greater freedom of action and reduces the chances of Russia to get a discount. Yesterday, Germany received additional support represented by Poland, which agreed to pay Berlin 1.9 billion euros of the debt.

To pay the debt, Russia is likely to use the funds of the growing stabilization fund. Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday that the volume of the stabilization fund is $ 25 billion.