Deputy PM thinks Russia's foreign debts are not excessive

The amount of Russia's foreign debts is not excessive. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin voiced this opinion in Washington on April 13. Kudrin is the head of the Russian delegation at the spring session of the managerial bodies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. According to a World Bank report, published on the same day, the amount of Russia's foreign debts is $152bn.

Kudrin pointed out that it was not necessary to repay the debt right now. It could be restructured, and the term of its repayment could be corrected. "This is a normal practice," the Finance Minister added. The Deputy Prime Minister remarked on the fact that the sum of Russia's foreign debts made up less than 40 percent of the GDP. According to him, this percentage is lower than the respective limit set by the European Union.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that the IMF and the World Bank had already declared their readiness to provide assistance in the restoration of Iraq, following the adoption of a respective UN resolution. "The main question is at what stage the World Bank should join (this process)," Kudrin underlined. In his view, "provision of such assistance will become possible only when there is a legitimate government (in Iraq)," the Rossiya (Russia) television channel reported.