Russia gives $500M loan to Moldova ahead of elections

Russia will offer a $500 million loan to Moldova, which is severely affected by economic and political crisis, stated Monday Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Ria-Novosti reported. The first installment of $150 million will be available soon, he added. “We have considered your request for a loan worth 0.5 billion dollars for Moldova. We think this is possible”, Putin said at ameeting with outgoing Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin in Moscow. “For this we need to bring corrections to Russia's budget and appeal the legislature for help. We are ready to do that”, Putin said.