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Belarus returned, hat in hand, to Russia's doorstop Tuesday, making an official request for a $9 billion loan after a bizarre back-and-forth that saw President Alexander Lukashenko threaten to reject future aid from Moscow.
Belarussian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky sent a letter to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seeking the funds for a nuclear power plant and related infrastructure, Energy Minister Nikolai Grushin said.
The hefty request comes after Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on Thursday balked at loaning Belarus $500 million, saying the country was nearly insolvent. A day later, Lukashenko fired back, suggesting Moscow backed out because it could not afford the "promised" sum. "It's not working out with Russia. We don't need to beg. We don't need to whine and cry. We need to look for happiness in another part of the planet," he told Sidorsky, Interfax reported.
On Monday, Kudrin bristled at the rebuke and said Moscow would consider the $500 million if Minsk improved its fiscal policy. "If those who want to help Belarus and want a balanced and stable economy are equated to opponents, then I don't know what Belarus wants."
A Kremlin source told Interfax on Tuesday that he hoped Kudrin's answer would settle the spat. "Kudrin gave Belarus its answer. I think that on this level the conflict should be over," the source said.
Belarus Returns for More Aid
03 June 2009
The Moscow Times
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