Russia is considering writing off up to 90 percent of Soviet-era debts owed by Syria, but it is not clear whether a deal will be struck during a visit by President Bashar al-Assad starting on Monday. A Finance Ministry source confirmed talks had taken place but said he did not know whether they would reach a conclusion during Assad's three-day official visit to Moscow.
The Kommersant daily newspaper reported Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Syrian counterpart Mohammad al-Hussein had held low-key talks in mid-January at which they agreed to write off $9.8 billion out of the $13 billion owed by Damascus.