Agreement on Russian loan signed - Serbia to get first tranche of USD 300 million

An agreement on the Russian USD 0.5 billion loan to support Serbia's budget was signed Wednesday in Moscow, with the first tranche of USD 300 million expected to be paid in the shortest time possible and the second tranche anticipated to be made available after Serbia inks a stabilization agreement with the IMF.

This document was signed by finance ministers Mladjan Dinkic and Anton Siluanov in the presence of prime ministers of the two countries. As Siluanov specified, this loan is approved for a period of 10 years and with an interest rate of 3.5 percent.

According to him, the first tranche will be paid in the shortest time possible.

- Yes, we have funds in our budget, we are signing this document today and placing the money at Serbia's disposal - he explained.

- As for the second tranche, there is one condition - it will be approved once Serbia signs a stabilization agreement with the IMF - said Siluanov.