Britannia Radio

Kremlin refuses to bail out Russian oligarchs

By Catherine Belton and Stefan Wagstyl in Moscow

Published: March 21 2009 00:57 | Last updated: March 21 2009 00:57

The Kremlin will not bail out Russia’s oligarchs or their foreign creditors, said Igor Shuvalov, the first deputy prime minister, on Friday, putting pressure on both sides to renegotiate the $130bn (€96bn, £90bn) in foreign debt owed by the largest companies.

Mr Shuvalov said Russia was open to foreign creditors converting their loans to indebted Russian industrial groups into equity.