Lukashenko: Belarus ready to pay back foreign debts in 2015
MINSK. Jan 29 (Interfax) - Belarus is ready to fully honor its obligations to its foreign debt in 2015, and the Eurobond holders should not worry about this, says Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
"I've just said here that we would like to have our foreign debt refinanced, and I've been informed that some holders of our bonds are worried. It was my expectation that our debts could be refinanced, and it would be more convenient for us to pay by equal installments. But our budget for this year envisions $4 billion, this money has already been allocated," Lukashenko said at a press conference in Minsk on Thursday.
"Therefore, don't rush about with our bonds and don't sell them cheaply. We are not in a default or pre-default state or unable to repay our debts. We'll give away the shirt off our back in order to repay our debts. Therefore, if someone is worried about holding our shares [and thinks] that we can't pay, calm down," he said.
"Perhaps we'd better square our accounts this year and forget about these debts," he said.
Belarus is negotiating new loans, including with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Lukashenko said, adding at the same time that he was against increasing the country's foreign debt.
"There is one trend: we should gradually forget about borrowing $2 billion or $3 billion each year. We need to live according to our means," he said.