OREANDA-NEWS. To restructure its foreign debt, Belarus needs a Russian loan to the tune of USD 2 billion, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Pyotr Prokopovich said.

Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov informed earlier that Belarus had been negotiating the prospects of taking a USD 2 billion intergovernmental loan from Russia, but it would not be necessary if Minsk succeeded in privatizing a USD 2.5 billion property in 2013.

“Yes, we do take foreign loans to ensure economic stability. We will see the peak of foreign debt repayment this and next year and we would like to restructure our debt,” Prokopovich said.

This loan is not included in Russia’s budget, which is a significant problem, he said.

Belarus used to claim that it needed a Russian credit for economic development. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced in December 2012 that Belarus was asking Russia to provide it with USD 2 billion worth of cheap loans “to modernize enterprises”.

A source in the Belarusian government told reporters that Belarus had already prepared a contract to take out a USD 2bn state loan from Russia. The loan to be repaid by 2027 will be used to finance the upgrade of the Belarusian economy.