Economist Vasily Koltashov says that it is not a big problem that other countries’ debts to Russia are increasing because they are used as a political tool. Countries indebted to Russia assist in various matters, such as circumventing sanctions, explained He is in talks with NSN.
How reported Earlier, according to the World Bank, the debt of foreign residents to Russia increased by 2.3 billion dollars (8.7%), and at the end of last year, 28 billion dollars were paid among the largest debtors – Vietnam, Egypt, India, Belarus and Bangladesh. It reached .9 billion dollars.
According to Koltashov, now only India and Egypt can pay off their debts, but Russia is in no hurry to demand this, but receives interest from its partners in rubles.
“All these debts are political, they are not seen as something that needs to be paid urgently,” he explained. – These loans are a kind of instrument of influence, because we help these countries and they can help us in some way, including in trade, for example. The dollar is losing value, these debts in gold have dropped a lot. It is not very profitable to pay them back, it is profitable to pay interest. Everyone is happy, things are going well.”
The economist also added that Russia is issuing new debts “not so willingly” today. He reminded that in current conditions it is more profitable to receive payments in rubles and yuan. According to the expert, this does not pose a problem because Chinese banks can act as intermediaries.
Let us remind you that by the end of 2022, Vietnam debtor Russia $1.39 billion, Egypt – $1.82 billion, India – $3.75 billion, Bangladesh – $5.86 billion and Belarus – $8.24 billion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated Reduction of Russia’s foreign debt by 14 billion dollars.