07 May 2004 07:56
AFGHAN DEBT TO RUSSIA TO BE RESOLVED BY PARIS CLUB
MOSCOW. May 7 (Interfax) - The issue of Afghanistan's debt to Russia will be resolved in the framework of the
Paris Club, whose policy calls for writing off a significant portion of the sum, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a
briefing following talks with his Afghan counterpart Abdullah Abdullah in Moscow on Friday.
"We have agreed that the problem of Kabul's debt to Moscow will be resolved in the framework of the Paris
Club. A significant part of the debt will be written off," he said.
He has said that Afghanistan insists on writing off the entire sum,
while Russia only agrees that most of the debt can be restructured,
"We have agreed that Russia's and Afghanistan's representatives will hold specific discussions on this
issue," Lavrov said.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said that the debt, some of which is denominated in Soviet rubles, exceeded $9
billion.
while some may be written off. Kudrin has linked the provision of donor aid to Afghanistan with resolution of that
country's debt to Russia.
[Interfax] |
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