Poland thinks Lukashenka’s economy may go bankrupt

Reports about Belarus’s high external debt give Poland a reason for concern.

According to IAR, a Polish radio station, the events in the country can lead the state to bankruptcy.

Referring to data of the Agency of Financial News, the Polish source focuses on Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s decision on increasing the volume of the internal debt from $9 to 11bn. In his national address a month ago, the ruler spoke about tightening belts, saving, and tackling the crisis.

It is not excluded that a decision to increase the debt is connected with a chance to get loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but the Fund’s conditions are too hard for Minsk to fulfil. Isn’t it time for Lukashenka to stop thinking about his forth presidential term and take a decision to give the power to somebody who is more responsible?

On May 15, Alyaksandr Lukashenka issued a decree ordering to increase the Belarus’s external debt ceiling to $11bn by the end of 2010. The previous external debt ceiling was $9.5bn.

It should be reminded that according to documents of the National Statistics Committee of Belarus, import of Russian oil to Belarus declined for the period January-March 2010 YOY.

The average price of the imported oil amounted to $368 per tonne showing a 50.7% growth. Import of oil products decreased by 83%, export by 39.1%. The average price of export rose by 51.5% reaching $553 per tonne.