OREANDA-NEWS. On 12 May 2009 was announced, that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was ready to lend Belarus U.S. USD 2.5 billion even if the country devaluated its national currency only 10%, instead of 20%, President Alexander Lukashenko said during his annual address to the parliament and the nation.

“But Russia devaluated its currency more than 50% in that period, and directors of manufacturing companies and the prime minister asked me why we were doing nothing, because our companies could collapse. They were suffering losses because of the exchange rate differences. Therefore we decided to devaluate the RURle by 20%,” Lukashenko said.

He said even that 20% one-off devaluation was “behind the devaluation pace in Russia and Ukraine.”

He also said the IMF loan was conditional upon two factors, namely, the one-off devaluation and wage caps.

The president went on to say that the devaluation in Belarus helped to preserve productions. “There are economic laws that do not depend on Lukashenko or the government, and if we ignore them, it will hurt us much more tomorrow,” Lukashenko said.

He said the Belarusian monetary and credit policy would remain stable. “I would like to warn our banks: you cannot pursue your own interests at the expense of your clients, especially as far as lending operations are concerned,” Lukashenko said.

“The central bank must make loans more affordable. We also need to ensure a reliable system to block loan swindling and abuse,” Lukashenko added.