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Yabloko thinks that the Soviet debt restructuring terms
are unfavourable for Russia. This is how the Deputy Chairman
of the Yabloko faction commented on the agreement with the
London Club of creditors secured by the First Deputy Prime
Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on February 13, 2000.
The agreement stipulates writing off 35% of the debt of
the former USSR, with payments of the remainder of the debt
to be staggered over 30 years and conversion of the debt
of Vneshekonombank into the state obligations of the Russian
Federation.
Sergei Ivanenko believes that restructuring of even 50%
of the debt would mean a serious step back, constituting
"a burden that Russia’s budget cannot sustain". "All the
talk about writing off 35% of the debt as a large victory
of our government is simply laughable," said Sergei Ivanenko.
He drew the attention of the public to the fact that negotiations
on debt restructuring started with the write-off of 70%
of the debt.
At that time negotiations were conducted by Mikhail Zadornov,
who was Finance Minister then and is now a member of the
Yabloko faction in the Duma.
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