IMF Delays Russia Loan Installment
The International Monetary Fund on Friday held back a $640-million loan installment for Russia in a move that many economists and Russian officials interpreted as a reaction to political pressure from European nations upset about the war in Chechnya.
After IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus met Friday with senior Kremlin economic advisor Alexander Y. Livshits, IMF spokesman Thomas Dawson cited Russia’s failure to enact economic reforms as the reason for delaying the payment, the second installment of a 17-month, $4.5-billion lending program approved in July.
Camdessus “discussed the required structural measures that haven’t been met,” Dawson said. “It is likely that these technical issues may take a few weeks to be resolved.”
But sources familiar with the IMF talks with Russia said France and Germany were pressing the fund to hold back on its lending program because of the war in the separatist Chechen republic, where a Russian military offensive has created hundreds of thousands of refugees and caused many civilian casualties.
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