Cuban debt to Russia will be partly written off, restructured - Russian minister
HAVANA. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Part of Cuba's $30-billion debt to Russia will be written off and the remaining amount will be restructured for ten years, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told journalists.
"The agreement has not come into force, but has been initialed pending all procedures in our country. I am speaking about measures to settle the Cuban side's debt to Russia, which is the successor of the Soviet Union," he said.
"A decision has been made to write off part of this debt and restructure the remaining amount for ten years," Manturov said.
It is too early to discuss specific proportions of debt settlement because all procedures inside the country should be finalized first, the minister said.
"Only after it, we will sign a final agreement, which will come into force and will regulate volumes and proportions of debt restructuring and write-off," he said, adding that Russia and Cuba could come close to signing this document before the end of the year.
"I believe that the timeframe we have agreed with our colleagues - six months up to September - will allow us to finalize all formalities," he minister said.