Russia defers Minsk’s nuclear plant debt repayment by one year

February 28, BPN. The Russian government will allow Belarus to start repaying the nuclear plant loan on April 1, 2024, says draft protocol amending loan conditions.

After April 2024, Minsk will have to repay the loan in 30 equal installments in the Russian currency every six months.

The draft protocol may be signed following Russia’s finance and foreign ministries’ talks with Belarusian authorities.

In 2020, Minsk and Moscow amended loan conditions allowing Belarus to use the loan until the end of 2022 and putting repayment on hold until April 1, 2023. The sides also agreed to replace a floating interest rate with a fixed rate of 3.3 percent.

The Belarusian nuclear plant is located near Astraviec, Hrodna region, some 10 miles away from the Lithuanian border. It has been built with a Russian loan. Lithuania views the plant as unsafe and describes it as a “geopolitical weapon.”

The plant’s Unit 1 started commercial operation in June 2021, while Unit 2 is scheduled to start commercial operation in the second half of 2023.