MOSCOW. Jan 20 (Interfax) – Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance
Minister Alexei Kudrin and Hungarian Finance Minister Csaba Laszlo on
Monday signed a protocol on final settlement of the former USSR debt to
Hungary, which amounted to $467 million.
The size of the debt was calculated as of January 1, 2002, and it
includes interest charged for 2002.
Kudrin told the press that the settlement plan takes into account $61
million written off from the debt, a sum equivalent to commodities Russia
earlier supplied to Hungary.
Russia will pay another $177.7 million of the debt in barter in
2003-2006.
As for the remaining $245 million, the Hungarian government will
reassign it to Russia's Vnesheconombank (VEB) with a discount. The size
of the discount will be negotiated between VEB and the Hungarian
government, and, after the debt reassignment, the Russian Finance
Ministry will have to settle this part of the debt to the VEB, Kudrin
said.
