Russia may limit the volume of its loans to Belarus if the former Soviet state continues limiting the circulation of Russian media in the country, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Thursday.
"The government of Russia is concerned with the Belarusian Administration's measures on repression and limitation of mass media from Russia," Kudrin said.
The minister added that if cases of Russian media repression continue in Belarus, "we [Russia] preserve the right to limit financial support to Belarus."
Some Russian journalists along with their foreign colleagues were detained in Belarus during large-scale protests last December following incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko's landslide victory in presidential elections.
The Belarusian ruble has come under severe pressure in the first five months of the year from a large trade deficit, generous wage increases and loans granted by the government ahead of the December 2010 presidential elections, which spurred a strong demand for foreign currency.
In spring, the country's authorities devaluated the national currency by 36 percent, froze prices on some staple foods and introduced fuel rationing to keep the lid on the deepening crisis.
