Lukashenko: Russia gave Belarus a deferment on a $1 billion loan

Moscow has granted Minsk a grace period for the payment of $1 billion of public debt, Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday.

“We recently agreed with the Russians that we will not pay them a billion dollars this year (they have postponed our debts). We borrowed 500 million dollars from them through the Eurasian Bank. I thought we would support mechanical engineering and so on. And nothing like that, all five hundred million I still keep and finance the treatment of people from covid. People's health is the main thing, and you can't get away from it. Therefore, somewhere you have to be patient, clenching your teeth - the next year will be very difficult, ”his press service quotes Lukashenka’s speech.

On September 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Lukashenka a $1.5 billion loan.

In October, the board of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) approved a $500 million loan to prevent a deficit in the consolidated budget of Belarus for ten years with a grace period of five years and with a floating interest rate.