Payments on Belarusian nuclear power plant construction loan to be deferred by one year

MOSCOW, 28 February (BelTA) – The time when Belarus is supposed to start paying out the loan granted by Russia to finance the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant will be delayed by one year. The measure is stipulated by the draft protocol approved by Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin and published by the Russian legal information registry, BelTA has learned.

The protocol will amend the 2011 Belarusian-Russian agreement on a $10 billion Russian loan for building the Belarusian nuclear power plant. The draft protocol stipulates that the repayment of the loan has to begin on 1 April 2024 at the latest. Apart from that, the document stipulates that all the payments will be made in Russian rubles. At present 1 April 2023 is the date for starting the repayment of the loan.

The Russian Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been authorized to organize negotiations with the Belarusian side and sign the protocol if the sides come to an agreement.