MOSCOW, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's national debt decreased by 0.5% in the first six months of 2005 to $138.1 billion (24% of GDP), a government official told reporters Tuesday, ahead of a cabinet session on H1 budget execution later this week.
"The national debt isn't large in proportion to the GDP," the official said. He also said that while foreign debt was decreasing, domestic debt was on the rise.
According to Finance Ministry statistics, the foreign debt as of July 1 stood at $107.6 billion. Russia owes $52.1 billion to foreign governments, $2.2 billion to foreign commercial banks, and $5.8 to international financial organizations; foreign-currency-denominated sovereign bonds account for the remaining $41.6 billion.
Domestic debt totaled $29.6 billion, with securities accounting for $28.8 billion; promissory notes, $447 million; T-bills, $118,818; and commodity loans, $187,197.
