Russia to pay off all Soviet-era debt

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 27, 2017 06:00 am

MOSCOW: A quarter of a century after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia is finally set to pay off all the foreign debt it inherited from the vanished Communist empire.

Keen to establish a reputation of a reliable borrower - despite Western financial sanctions over the 2014 Ukraine conflict - Moscow announced last week it will pay off US$125.2 million (S$175 million) to Bosnia-Herzegovina within 45 days.

Last month, Moscow paid US$60.6 million to Macedonia.

After the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, Russia had assumed responsibility for its foreign debt of US$70 billion.

Many analysts had previously warned that the Western sanctions could deplete Russia's finances. But the Kremlin has so far managed to maintain financial stability despite being hit hard by the slump in oil prices. - AFP