Minsk, March 20. (Sputnik). Belarus has agreed with Russia to defer part of Russia’s loan payments for about 5 or 6 years, the country’s Finance Minister, Yuri Silverstov, revealed on Sunday.
“It was proposed to change the terms of part of the payments (…), and to extend it for five or six years. “We have a delay that will allow us at the moment not to divert resources to meet these obligations,” the headline said in a program on Belarus 1 TV.
Silverstov denied rumors about Belarus’ plans to switch to the ruble, but stressed that international payments would begin to use the currencies of each country, moving away from the dollar.
In 2022, Belarus will have to pay about $3.3 billion to repay its foreign debt, and in 2023 – about $4.7 billion.
On December 2, 2021, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the European Union agreed to a fifth package of restrictions imposed on Belarus. This time the veto was triggered by the arrival of thousands of Iraqi Kurdish refugees and other nationalities at the Polish border, the new overland route for asylum seekers seeking to enter the European Union.
The package included 17 individuals and 11 organizations, bringing the total sanctions imposed on Belarus to 183 individuals and 26 entities.
For its part, Minsk from January 1, 2022 imposed a food embargo on a wide list of products from countries that are participating in the sanctions against Belarus.
This list covers live pigs, beef, pork, sausages, by-products, salt, sweets, milk, nuts, fruits and some other products, but it will not affect goods imported by Belarusians for their own consumption, for example, those intended for use. Infant feeding and some others. (Sputnik)
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