MINSK, March 1. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that Minsk would not implore Moscow for a $600-mln loan to refinance its debt obligations to Russia. He made this statement at a press conference on Friday.
"We are not obtaining this money, we are paying it back to Russia. If it’s very hard for Russia, if it’s impossible, we won’t crawl on our knees, we will iron out the problem. I don’t think it will be a big deal," Lukashenko said.
He noted that Minsk’s relations with Western states are improving.
"They lend us a decent amount," he noted.
According to him, Western banks had offered Belarus a much more favorable loan.
By the same token, Lukashenko pointed out that relations with Russia would improve and the parties would "get back to this issue."
"We have agreed with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin to analyze issues that need in-depth analysis," Lukashenko said.
"We will have a meeting on the integration aspects at the presidential level on Tuesday, and we will also look at relations with the Russian Federation on these issues. I will inform the Russian president about the Belarusian position. "
Lukashenko’s finance minister said earlier that Minsk suggested to Moscow that it would provide the republic with a state loan of $600 mln to refinance its debt obligations to the Russian Federation this year, but the decision by the Russian government on granting this loan was not made. According to him, "the funds to furnish this loan were earmarked in the federal budget legislation for 2019.".