MOSCOW, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia plans to spend $10 billion from its international reserves to buy IMF bonds to support countries hit hardest by the global economic crisis, the finance minister said on Wednesday.
"The government is currently discussing the possibility of making a decision to invest up to $10 billion in bonds of the International Monetary Fund," Alexei Kudrin said at a meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev.
The G20 summit of rich and emerging economies in London in early April made a decision to enlarge the financial pool of international financial institutions, saying a total of $1.1 trillion was needed for these purposes, including $500 billion for the IMF.
"Some EU countries and other economies have expressed their support for the enlargement of the IMF's financial resources. In turn, the IMF has offered a number of financial instruments that would be advantageous and suitable for countries that would be prepared for the time being to provide financial resources in the form of loans or borrowings to the IMF, to support needy countries," Kudrin said.
The finance minister said that Russia had opted for IMF bonds after consultations with the financial institutions, adding that these financial instruments were as reliable as gold and foreign currency reserves.
