MOSCOW - Russia no longer needs major international loans to develop economically, World Bank President James Wolfensohn said in an interview published Saturday, agreeing with Russian officials who have steered clear of big loans in recent years.
"At the current time there is no need for large-scale support of the Russian budget by the World Bank," Wolfensohn, who has been visiting Moscow for talks with Russian officials, told the prominent daily Izvestia.
Russia inherited massive debt from the Soviet Union and racked up huge new debts in the economic turmoil of the 1990s - including dlrs 10 billion in World Bank loans over the past decade.
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has stopped accepting major loans from international lenders and sought to slash its foreign debt. The change accompanies three successive years of economic growth in Russia, fueled by high world prices for oil, Russia's top commodity. /The Associated Press/