MINSK ANNOUNCES DEBT DEAL WITH RUSSIA.

Belarusian prime minister Mikhail Chyhir yesterday told a news conference that Minsk and Moscow have agreed to settle their debts. Russia will erase a gas bill of $510 million from its books, while Belarus will write off hard currency assets worth $250 million held by Russia’s Foreign Trade Bank (Vneshekonombank) and waive transit fees for westbound Russian oil and gas shipments through Belarus. (2) The announcement clarifies an official statement of the previous day in which Belarussian president Aleksandr Lukashenko implied that Russia had unilaterally forgiven Belarus’s debts.

Hostages to be Released Within a Week.