Russia has cut foreign aid for the first time since 2012, according to a study by the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).
Russia’s international development assistance had grown since 2013 and topped $1 billion in the past two years, the RBC business newspaper reported Tuesday, citing the RANEPA study.
But foreign aid fell from $1.16 billion in 2015 to $1.02 billion in 2016, according to the study.
RANEPA states that debt relief is the main form of Russia’s foreign aid, totaling nearly $425 million last year. Russia has written off loans to its biggest debtors — Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia — over the past year and a half.
Other categories include grants, loans and other forms of financial, material or service assistance to partner countries.
Assistance to self-proclaimed states like Abkhazia and South Ossetia is not included in the data.
