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Russia to invest $15 bn from welfare fund in Ukrainian securities

Putin noted that “it is not linked with any conditions: growth or decline or freezing of social standards, pensions, allowances or salaries”

© ITAR-TASS/EPA

MOSCOW, December 17, 23:42 /ITAR-TASS/. Russia will invest 15 billion dollars from the National Welfare Fund in Ukrainian securities, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the negotiations with visiting Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovich in the Russian capital on Tuesday.

“The Russian government decided to invest 15 billion dollars from the reserves of the National Welfare Fund in the securities of the Ukrainian government,” he said.

Putin noted that “it is not linked with any conditions: growth or decline or freezing of social standards, pensions, allowances or salaries.”

As of December 1, 2013, the National Welfare Fund has amounted to 2.922 trillion roubles (about $89.8 billion).

“The terms of investment will be made public later,” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov noted. “Ukraine will issue the Eurobonds. The resources from the National Welfare Fund will be invested in the Eurobonds partially this year and in 2014,” the Russian finance minister said.

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