MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russia remains one of the countries with the lowest level of foreign national debt among the world's largest economies, according to experts interviewed by TASS.

Russia’s foreign national debt has exceeded $60 bln, according to statistics published by the Finance Ministry. By February 1, 2026, it had risen to $61.9 bln, according to the ministry’s documents.

"The government's foreign currency debt has increased slightly, but not by a critical amount. This was primarily due to the Finance Ministry issuing yuan bonds in 2025. In my opinion, it is necessary to observe the overall limit of 20% of GDP for government debt. This is important not only for the state's financial capacity, but also to prevent the state from withdrawing excess financial resources from the financial market and limiting companies' ability to raise funds for their development," said Alexander Abramov, head of the Laboratory for the Analysis of Institutions and Financial Markets at the Presidential Academy.

The expert noted that Russia's foreign national debt is one of the lowest among large countries. According to the expert, even a temporary increase above the 20% threshold would not be critical – it is important to properly assess and manage potential risks.

"There are two main risks with regard to government debt: high debt servicing costs and the risk of creating liquidity shocks to domestic financial resources," the expert said.

For example, there is currently a sharp rise in money market rates in the yuan market. This is largely due to the fact that the Finance Ministry raised a significant amount of yuan through the placement of government bonds. Therefore, theoretically, exceeding 20% of the debt could create both risks of rising debt servicing costs and liquidity risks in the domestic financial market, the expert noted.

According to Anton Tabakh, Chief Economist at Expert RA, it is the national debt-to-GDP ratio that is more important. According to him, the economy in dollar terms has grown significantly over 20 years. The national debt-to-GDP ratio itself is important in conjunction with the structure of liabilities and their repayment schedule.

"There are no uniform 'gold standards' for public debt. Russia has the lowest level of public debt (both in rubles and foreign currency) of any major economy," the expert stressed.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said earlier that Russia's national debt is one of the lowest among major developed countries. Last December, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated that in the medium-term forecast, Russia's public debt was not expected to exceed 20% of GDP, which is an advantageous factor for the Russian economy. Currently, it stands at around 15% of GDP, he noted.