Finance Ministry has not received any suggestions from Yukos concerning its debts

Russia's Finance Ministry has not received any suggestions from Yukos concerning the payment of its debts by instalment, deputy finance minister Sergei Shatalov said Wednesday at a briefing for foreign journalists.

"We have not received an official request, which we must have to discuss the issue of debt repayment by instalments," he said. And he should know, as he handles such requests. Yukos has not advanced in its search for a way to settle its debt crisis, thinks Shatalov.

An informed source in the Russian government told RIA on Monday that the letter from Yukos concerning the settlement of its debts to the budget is being analysed in the concerned departments of the cabinet.

On July 8, the company sent one more offer on the settlement of its debt arrears: Yukos is ready to transfer $8 bln of debt arrears for 2000-2003 within three years. The Wednesday statement of the company says that Yukos would pay a part of its debt arrears for 2000 this week. In July, it will pay $1.25-1.3 bln, including $550-600 mln in VAT arrears, says the statement.

The debt claims of the Ministry of Taxes and Levies to Yukos for 2000 amount to Rbs99.4 bln (about $3.4 bln).