MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Head of Vnesheconombank (VEB) Sergey Gorkov does not rule out removal of anti-Russian sanctions in 2017.

In an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel he said:

"We will be meeting our obligations next year and hope that the situation with sanctions will change for the better," he said adding that the state corporation is not getting ready for this. "Let it be a surprise for us," the head of VEB said.

When commenting on how anti-Russian sanctions affect the work of VEB, Gorkov said that now they only complicate the repayment of VEB debt to foreign creditors.

"Sanctions define only one thing - we are obliged to immediately pay debts. We do it to the foreign banks' delight, because it is important for them to make sure that everything is paid in time. And we cannot act differently, because otherwise we will let a default happen and default is a serious thing," he said.

Despite the need for payments on loans, since 2015 the bank has managed to switch from liquidity deficit in the amount of 400 billion rubles ($6.6 bln) to its surplus in the amount of 150 billion rubles ($2.5 bln) by the end of 2016, Gorkov said.