MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia on Tuesday disclosed terms of a previously agreed debt restructuring with Venezuela that show annual payments from Caracas to Moscow increase five fold starting in 2023.
The details were included in a governmental bill presented for ratification to the lower house of parliament, or the Duma. It was unclear what would happen to the agreement between Russia and Venezuela if the Duma rejects the bill.
Caracas has to pay Moscow $133 million a year from 2019 to 2022. That increases to $684 million from 2023 to 2026, the document on the lower house of parliament’s website showed.
The deal, signed by Russia and Venezuela in 2018, envisages repayment of $3.12 billion in principle and interest payments of $217 million.
Russia and Venezuela agreed on the debt restructuring in late 2017. Close ally Moscow has acted as a lender of last resort for Caracas, with the Russian government and oil giant Rosneft
(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
