The debt arose from Soviet Vnesheconombank’s failure to pay off the $1 billion credit offered it by Kuwait’s Foreign Trading Contracting & Investment in 1991. Vnesheconombank's emblem is seen in the photo.
Photo: Pavel Smertin
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Russia to Pay Back Soviet Debts to Kuwait
The Russian government is set to sign an agreement with Kuwait to repay the $1 billion credit that Kuwait’s Foreign Trading Contracting & Investment granted Vnesheconombank in 1991. Russia is ready to cover 50 percent of the debt now and pay off the other half in installments.
Russia and Kuwait are to sign an intergovernmental agreement on repaying the debt of the former Soviet Union on May 30, ITAR-TASS reported last Friday. The decision was made during the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Kuwait and Persian Gulf countries, the news agency quote an unofficial source as saying.
Russia’s debt before Kuwait is the largest outstanding one of the USSR. The debt arose from Soviet Vnesheconombank’s failure to pay off the $1 billion credit offered it by Kuwait’s Foreign Trading Contracting & Investment in 1991 for seven years.
Vnesheconombank has never disclosed terms or purposes of the credit. Analysts believe that the money was used to buy equipment for the oil industry, foodstuffs and manufactured goods.
The debt will be paid back in two parts, the KUNA news agency report. The first part will be covered within 15 days after the agreement is signed, while the remaining amount will be paid in four installments within the next two years. The outstanding debt comes to $1.1 billion or up to $2 billion, according to different estimates. The Finance Ministry was unable to provide the accurate figure yesterday.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 29, 2006
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