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Russia might borrow $500 mln from AIIB for financing Development Fund — minister

Russia might borrow $500 mln from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to finance the Development Fund

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/. Russia might borrow $500 mln from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to finance the Development Fund, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin told reporters.

"The first direction is borrowing aimed at financing the Development Fund, the forms of borrowing are being discussed. We can talk about the volume of about $0.5 bln," he said.

"The second is the joint work of AIIB on co-investment together with the Russian-Chinese Investment Fund, also in infrastructure development projects," he said.

Russia also plans to attract AIIB and the Eurasian Development Bank to finance projects that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has rejected after sanctions against Russia were introduced in 2014.

Thus, according to Oreshkin, the third direction is "work on specific projects where AIIB could provide direct financing. First, we would like to see a number of projects implemented, the ones that EBRD has planned in Russia. Currently we are considering a possibility of joint investment from AIIB and the Eurasian Development Bank," he added.