Belarus, Russian PMs fail to reach deal in Moscow talks

The governments of Belarus and Russian will continue consultations at the level of experts about the conditions for a Russian stabilization loan to Belarus, following the talks Monday in Moscow between Belarus Prime Minister Siargej Sidorski and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.

Belarus seeks a $1.5 billion loan from Russia in order to pay for the Russian gas suplies, but the Russian government does not rush to wire the dollars to the Belarusians. Just recently, the Russian government provisionally approved a gas loan for Belarus.

Russian Finance Minister Andrey Kudrin told reporters that conditions and the actual amount of the loan were under study. But he would not elaborate on when this country could obtain a long-awaited loan.

The Russian cabinet is to make a final decision by introducing amendments to the national budget. Earlier reports suggested that these amendments could be developed by October 2007.