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Russia tells Belarus to carry out economic reforms

Minsk must draw up a plan of specific economic reforms within 10 to 12 days before it could begin negotiations with Moscow about the possibility of loans for Belarus, Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Surikov told reporters in the Belarusian capital on March 25.

He said that an agreement to that effect had been reached during talks held by the finance ministers of Belarus and Russia in Moscow earlier this week.

Belarusian Minister Andrey Kharkavets and his Russian counterpart, Aleksei Kudrin, discussed what the Belarusian government could do to reform the economy, including budget spending cuts and steps to stabilize the monetary sphere, Mr. Surikov said.

He warned that "specific" talks would begin only after the Belarusian government presented a plan of economic reforms. "As far as I know, the Belarusian side is satisfied with the results of the first meeting with Kudrin," the ambassador said.

An agreement was reached at the March 22 meeting on the procedure of further talks on a so-called budget support loan and a tied export loan for the construction of a nuclear power plant, the Russian finance ministry`s press office said.

Belarus desperately needs foreign exchange to cope with its enormous current-account deficit and stop its foreign exchange reserves from dwindling.

Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Syarhey Rumas announced in mid-February that Belarus had applied to the Eurasian Economic Community for a loan of up to $2 billion out of its anti-crisis fund.

Mr. Kudrin told reporters a month later that Belarus had requested a $1-billion loan from the Russian government.

"Favorable decisions on the loan requests will depend on compliance with a series of conditions concerning structural reforms," Mr. Kudrin said, noting that Russia`s conditions for providing loans were similar to those of the International Monetary Fund.

Pyotr Prakapovich, chairman of the National Bank of Belarus, said earlier this month that he expected the loans to be provided before July. //BelaPAN