Russia waves off 90 percent of Cuba's debt

Moscow, July 12 (IANS) Russia has scrapped 90 percent of Cuba's debt to Moscow, the Kremlin press service said Friday.

The announcement came on the same day when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Cuba early Friday for an official visit to the island, the first stop of his Latin America tour, Xinhua reported.

Russian and Cuban governments signed a protocol last October over the debt, which amounted 35.2 billion dollars. It accumulated when Cuba was a Soviet ally in the second half of the 20th century.

The remaining 10 percent of the debt will be restructured and paid by Cuba during next 10 years, and the money will be re-invested into Cuban economy.

Russia earlier written off debts worth 116 billion dollars to countries such as Afghanistan, Mongolia, North Korea, Syria, and Libya.

--Indo-Asian New Service

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