MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has paid off the bulk of its $2.3-billion debt to the Paris Club of Creditor Nations ahead of schedule, a Finance Ministry source said Friday. "The main part of the payment was made today," the source said, but declined to give exact figures.
The spokesperson added that Russia was planning to pay the rest of the debt on August 22, and not on August 20, as had been reported earlier. This year, the traditional interest payment day turned out to be Saturday, a day off, which is why the last payment was put off until Monday.
In total, Russia will have paid $15 billion in Soviet-era debt. The previous payments were made on July 15 and 29, when the Paris Club states received a total of $13 billion.
