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MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - New Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov has signed a government resolution to pay off a $343.3 million debt for 1998 U.S. agricultural loans ahead of schedule, the government press service said Friday.
"The Finance Ministry's proposal... to pay off ahead of time the remainder of the principal amount of a loan stipulated by a 1998 agreement between the Russian and U.S. governments on the sale of agricultural products should be accepted," Zubkov's instructions read.
The Finance Ministry is to pay $343.3 million from the Stabilization Fund, set up to accrue windfall oil revenues and used to pay foreign debts, the government said on its Web site.
