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IMF halts Russia loans during Chechnya crisis

15 December 1999

In December the IMF halted loans to Russia as the war in Chechnya reached crisis point. Officially loans were stopped because the Russian government has not complied with all economic conditions of its loan agreements. But Michel Camdessus, IMF Managing Director, was quoted as saying: “we cannot go forward with the financing if the rest of the world doesn’t want to.”

This summer the Russian government negotiated a new loan with the IMF. In December it was due to release $640m, although the money would have never actually left Washington, merely refinanced old loans.