Official position and letter of the NAM on the potential allocation of lending to the Lukashenko regime from the Russian Federation
Yesterday, the information space was actively discussing the news that Moscow had expressed its readiness to consider proposals from the Lukashenko regime to refinance its debt obligations to the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development and the Russian Federation.
At the same time, as a positive point, it was noted that we are talking about the possible allocation of only one billion dollars this year — instead of a loan of 3.5 billion dollars, which was previously requested by the Lukashenko regime and the work on the allocation of which within the framework of the EFSD was announced by the so-called Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov.
Let us remind you that in the coming year, the Lukashenko regime must return almost $1 billion 200 million in loans to Russia and almost $400 million in loans from the EFSD. The total payments on Belarus' sovereign debt (external and internal) in 2022 will amount to almost 10.5 billion Belarusian rubles in equivalent — or almost 4 billion dollars.
Considering the fact that Lukashenko’s regime has lost almost all sources for attracting external loans, is losing and will continue to lose foreign exchange earnings from exports necessary to pay off debts due to the sanctions imposed against it, as well as due to the sanctions imposed on sovereign debt by the United States of America — any opportunity to obtain external lending is critical for him.
In this regard, the National's Anti-Crisis Management considers unacceptable the potential allocation of even one billion dollars to the Lukashenko regime, which will prolong the economic agony of the dictatorship in our country.
In conditions where the Lukashenko regime continues to increase repression, trades the sovereignty of Belarus, organizes itself and takes an active part in aggressive actions against our neighbors, thereby creating a military threat in the region, and also demonstrates a complete inability to maintain the existence of Belarus as a viable political and economic entity and turns our Republic into a “collapsing state”.
— We are convinced that any external support for this regime, allowing it to prolong its existence, is a threat to the security of Belarusian citizens and the preservation of the sovereignty and independence of our country.
Therefore, on the eve of the meeting between Lukashenko and Putin on February 18, at which the conditions for providing external financing to the regime will most likely be agreed upon, we notified the government of the Russian Federation, as well as all offices of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development of the following:
First: in the case of allocating loans to the Lukashenko regime for any amount, the lending authority must take into account the illegitimacy of citizen Lukashenko and his non-recognition as a legitimate president by both the Belarusian people and the majority of countries in the civilized world. Thus, any lending to the Republic of Belarus is not possible due to the fact that it is currently represented by citizens who are not authorized to do so by the Belarusian people, do not have the appropriate mandate and do not have the authority to do so from the point of view of international law.
Second: the Republic of Belarus has nothing to do with the receipt of external loans by this citizen and any of his representatives. And the creditors will make further claims from citizen Lukashenko personally.
Third: if, despite all of the above, the allocation of a loan to the Lukashenko regime takes place, the National's Anti-Crisis Management will make every effort to ensure that secondary US sanctions are applied to the creditors, based on Directive 1 and US President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14,038, according to which against the sovereign debt of Belarus, the Ministry of Finance and the Development Bank are subject to sanctions from this country.
This position of the National's Anti-Crisis Management is reflected in the corresponding letter to potential creditors and sent to them today, February 17, 2022.
Comments