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Russians opposed to easing conditions for Ukrainian loan repayment — pollster

79% of those polled believe it is necessary to demand the repayment within the planned timetable

© Zurab Javakhadze/TASS Archive

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Russia’s position on Ukraine’s $3 bln debt unchanged — Finance Ministry

MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. Most Russians see no reasons for easing conditions for repaying the loan granted to Ukraine two years ago, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM) said following a survey conducted last month.

"On the issue of the Ukrainian debt to Russia ($3 billion) whose repayment period expires in December, the majority of Russians are quite categorical: 79% of our fellow countrymen believe it is necessary to demand the repayment within the planned timetable," the WCIOM press release said.

The majority of the respondents supporting the repayment of the debt without the possibility of concessions from Russia are the supporters of the LDPR (Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party) — 83%, and the minority — the supporters of the non-parliamentary parties — 53%.

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Only 15% of those polled agree to meet the Ukrainian side halfway: to restructure the debt writing it off partially and postponing the remaining payments. This idea is shared by the supporters non-parliamentary parties more often than by average Russians.

Most Russians (65%) showing flexibility in this issue, found it difficult to say under what conditions Ukraine’s debt to Russia should be partially written off and payments postponed. Of these, 12% said that Ukraine "should leave the Donbass region alone and cease the hostilities" in exchange for easing the conditions for the loan repayment. And 7% of those polled said it was possible to satisfy Ukraine’s request if it began to display a more friendly attitude towards Russia.

The poll was conducted on October 24 and 25, 2015, with 1,600 respondents interviewed in 46 regions and republics of Russia. The statistical error does not exceed 3,5%.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Economy WCIOM Public opinion

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