Prime-Minister hopes Russia will be able to befittingly surmount "the peak of payments on debts"

Prime-Minister of Russia Mikhail Kasyanov hopes that Russia will be in a position to befittingly overcome the problem of 2003 which will see the peak of the payments on the foreign debts. According to Kasyanov, an increase by actually 100 per cent of the payments compared to ordinary years when Russia paid from 8 to 10 billion dollars will occur in the year of 2003. "The problem does exist, and it is serious - the big burden can affect the economic growth rates in the country", Kasyanov emphasized. Speaking about relations with the Paris Club, Kasyanov stressed that they figure as a "separate line". Estimating the role of this financial organisation in the development of the Russian economy, the Premier noted that "once the Paris Club could help Russia more but today this page has already been turned over". On the whole, Russia has been living already for two years without borrowing abroad. But, citing other countries' experience, Kasyanov stressed that "it pays to live moderately in debt".

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