A loan from Russia will help Belarus cope with large foreign debt repayments in August 2015

On July 14, Russia signed an agreement to provide Belarus with a loan of USD 760 million for the period of 9.5 years and a grace period of 4.5 years with a floating rate of up to 3% per annum. The receipt of funds under this agreement is expected within 15 days from the date of its entry into force. The majority of the loaned amount will be used to redeem Eurobonds in August 2015. The full amount required to fully repay the bond issuance will be obtained by means of the sales of treasury foreign currency bonds on the internal market and by means of a slight reduction in gold and forex reserves. In order to repay the remaining amount of foreign debt, the revenue from export duties on petroleum products will be employed by the end of 2015. New state loans in foreign currencies for natural and legal persons are possible. And banks may attract additional resources in foreign markets.