The Russian press is beginning to speculate about the reasons for potential upcoming strengthened relationship between Iceland and Russia.
The Moscow News informed that Russia received the official request for a loan from Iceland late on Tuesday.
“We will consider it. Iceland has a reputation for strict budget discipline and has a high credit rating. We’re looking favourably at the request,” said Alexei Kudrin, the Russian Minister of Finance.
“This is looking like the beginning of relations between Russia and Iceland,” Jon Thorisson, CEO of an Icelandic investment bank, told The Moscow Times daily.
On the other hand, Vladimir Krendel from the Institute for Financial Research in Moscow does not consider it a beginning of relations. “We had a long-standing relationship with Iceland in the times of the Soviet Union, when we provided them with oil. This was very unusual because Iceland was part of NATO, and NATO was the enemy”, he said.
Marina Pustilnik, a reporter from The Moscow News, wrote: “Providing Iceland with a much needed loan would hardly dent Russia’s huge currency reserves. This is purely political, there is nothing economic in it”.
“And although Russia is now looking for friends in strange new places, it is clear that should Moscow approve the loan to Reykjavik, it would not be doing so in the hope of becoming great friends,” she continued.
In fact, Russia has given away much more money in forfeited loans to numerous third-world countries, while Iceland actually stands all chances of being repaid.
The Icelandic delegation is to fly to Russia this weekend and negotiations on the loan are supposed to start on Tuesday, October 14th.
I am a Scotsman working in Iceland. I have also had the privelige of visiting Russia a couple of years ago. I would welcome the help from Russia, and would trust the Russians much more Than any Western European Country, The I.M.F. or, God forbid, the USA.
I am just an african guy who never takes sides when it comes to geopolitical issues but after reading all the comments i am begining to notice that the Russian’s are not the bad ones. Americans and Westerners are the ones who are still carrying around the cold war mentalities. Even the good things the Russians do to help are viewed as evil intentions, i mean who thought of the loan to start with. Kill the mentality the cold war is already in history books.
Uk is demanding Icelandic government to pay way over 100.000 pounds per person living here, kids and older people included! none of our Nato “friends” even talk to us unless in media and then to kick us down.
We have no chose but to go to the Russians and imf and ask for help and i fear that we can’t even afford to say no to a Russian military base if thats what they want.
Last time a nation in Europe was in a situation where they had noway of helping them self gave us Hitler! I doubt we will go through that again, but putting a desperate nation in the corner instead of helping or just leave them alone makes desperate solutions.
God help us all
Anders Hedman PERSONALLY: At the moment of dissolution of the Soviet Union, according to the duly signed agreement, Georgia MUST HAVE PROCEED a referendum about the sovereignity on the territories of Abkhazia and Southern Osetia. Georgia refused to do it and just declared their territories as Georgian soil. Definetely people in those two former autonomy territories of Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic have started to think that their rights were violated (all the other autonomy territories of USSR have had this voting). So, they self-declared their independence.
Then, on 8-th of July 2008 Georgia FIRST HAS STARTED NIGHT FIRE on the sleeping city of Tshinval. Have you seen ANY photos from Tshinval? It was for 40% destroyed – as a result of one fire – quite huge “achievement”, don’t you think? And then, only after a day or so, regular forces have come to S. Osetia from Russian Territory. We lost 72 people in this short war. Dead civillians in S. Osetia counts by hundreds.
So, think who and why do you support. Might be it’s time to change something in your mind?
BBC never tells true, btw
les not prostitute ourselfs we will pay for it later for sure,russa can not be trusted
I have only one recommendation to Iceland: Borrow money from Norway’s oil fund but not from Russia, That means soon that Keflavik with become Keflagorod and Su27’s will be based there. Look what happened with Georgia in August.
Do not prostitute yourselves!
Iceland should make friends with Russia and stay away from arrogant and greedy USA/UK duet.
To Russian People:
For me this discution is interesting, on the point of this clash of points of view. Your perspective is different than the western people and emphasizing this difference can be didactic for some readers.
Keep on!
I’m quite satisfied with Putin :) At the period of your loveliest yeltsin’s rule people have been absolutely poor and demoralized, while those countries like UK and US sucked all the possible resources from my country basically for free. Crimes, alcoholism, drug-addiction and all the possible sins in “democratic 1990-x” were blossoming as flowers in Florida in May. Those time Russia was “good girl” for some very understandable reason. Good salary in Russia in 1995 was 150$. Now I receive somewhat 2000 USD, and I just started my career after university (not Moscow). There’s mostly new and expensive cars on the streets, people make shopping as much as they reasonably need – not as much as they can afford. Medicine developes very fastly and we again have a free medicine without insurance, that really helps you. Planes are constantly substituting by new models of Tupolev, Airbus, Sukhoi (since 2008). Trains now in Russia are the best in the matter of price/quality/distance (between Moscow – St. Petersburg it’s from 15 EUR/sleeping place – 850 km, between Moscow and Vladivostok it’s from 150 EUR – 9300 km).
All the modern IT technologies are available everywhere for absolutely normal money. Prices for food is lower, than in EUR zone countries, 1 litre of petrol cost from 0,67 EUR (that`s a lot for oil-exporter, imho) and, main point, country suffer of lack of the working hands – that’s a problem in general, but for people it’s very nice – number of job offers is much higher, than number of job seekers.
So, where the hell did you find EVIL in Russia and Putin personally?!
Who can tell, why Russian “gift” (with interest LIBOR+0,5%) should be dangerous? Or, you just still think, that we have drunk bears with balalaikas in Moscow in ushankas and people live oppressed by the Sauron-like Putin, who control each inch of the information area?
Don’t you think it’s a bit primitive?
PS: seems not interesting for me to write here something, cause people doesn’t understand anything.
Dans sa détresse, l’Islande aurait tout intérêt à demander du secours au Fonds monétaire international (FMI) plutôt qu’à la Russie. La deuxième banque du pays, la Landsbanki, a coulé en 24 heures et la devise nationale a sérieusement décroché : le gouvernement est aux abois. Le taux de change a été stabilisé à 131 couronnes pour un euro, après être grimpé à 200 couronnes pour un euro lundi 6 octobre, mais il faut trouver de nouvelles réserves de devises. Belle initiative. Ce qui est moins avisé, c’est de s’adresser aux Russes.
Le soutien au taux de change laissera un peu de répit au consommateur islandais, qui devra néanmoins digérer une dévaluation de 35 % par rapport à l’euro. Pour les nombreux habitants qui ont contracté des emprunts libellés en euros, il devient plus coûteux de rembourser. Le taux d’intérêt sur le marché domestique atteint 15 % et l’inflation culmine à 14 %.
La défense de la couronne islandaise exige de solides ressources. La moindre faiblesse inciterait les traders à parier sur l’échec de cette politique, jusqu’à ce qu’elle échoue en effet. Si la couronne était encore dévaluée, le pays aurait plus de difficulté à rembourser sa dette, et en arriverait peut-être même à ne plus l’honorer.
Un prêt russe de 4 milliards d’euros aurait du sens, encore que pour les Russes il compromettrait des finances déjà fragiles. Mais surtout, il viendrait bouleverser la donne géopolitique. L’Islande est membre de l’OTAN, et on peut s’attendre à ce que la Russie exige une récompense pour avoir prêté au petit pays l’équivalent d’un tiers de son PNB. L’éventualité d’une présence russe dans l’océan Nord-Atlantique ferait bondir les Etats-Unis. Le plus sage est d’emprunter au FMI. Bien sûr, l’Islande aurait toujours à prendre des engagements, mais ils seraient de bon aloi et de nature uniquement financière. L’hypothèse russe l’entraînerait plutôt sur le terrain militaire et stratégique.
Par ailleurs, la maîtrise de l’inflation et la rigueur budgétaire sont de toute façon les pierres angulaires du redressement de l’économie nationale, et les Américains feront certainement pression pour que l’offre du FMI soit avantageuse. L’Islande ferait mieux d’ouvrir les bras au FMI, sous peine d’être réduite à la condition de pion sur l’échiquier géopolitique.
My Afi (grandfather to those who do not speak Icelandic) will be turning over in his grave if this goes through. He and my grandmother even taught me a card game that was, in essence, called “Get the Russians Out!” Russians (and especially Putin) have an eye out for the entire Arctic region. With the unusually warm climate approaching which is similar to the weather that Eric the Red and Leif Ericsson most likely first witnessed during Iceland’s colonization, there will come a day that oil drilling is feasible near the Pole and the Arctic passage is open. Iceland could be THE gateway for both operations. Iceland might as well fly the Russian flag. This could have an influence on the entire world stage. Let’s face it, Putin is evil and one (or one’s country) should never deal with the Devil. Amen.
As the old saying goes, beware of Russians bearing gifts…
Aluminum, aluminum, aluminum…that’s what the embassador of Russia in Iceland had in his mind when he made the favour to open a way for negotiations…ayy Iceland, corrupted Iceland. They should include in the terms of the loan to send David Oddson to Siberia!
Russia may know that Iceland will be elected for a UNSC non-permanent member seat. This is not a coincidence that Russia is offering Iceland a loan. It is a highly calculated strategic move of Moscow.
Iceland will have to vote everytime in favour of Russian foreign policy in UNSC should it wants the loan deal.
If you call it speculations… Well… By the way, what’s bad if relationship between Russia and Iceland will become warmer? If, for example, people of both countries will be able to travel or live on territory of each other without visas? Tourism will increase, communication will open new spheres of cooperation, business will open new market (financial, mostly).
Or, is it burned in brains by constant (usually quite low quality) propaganda, that Russia = bad country, which wants only to grab new territories and ruin the goverments? It’s not that true. I will open very unknown information for the audience of the Icenews – there’s no any interest towards Iceland among russian society at all. In few words, those few people who heard about this issue says: “They asked for financial help – well, it’s not an enemy and why wouldn’t Russian government give them a loan? 4 bln for Russia is almost nothing (total reserves is near 500 bln), so even in case of getting bankrupt, Iceland won’t destroy anything in our economy”. Something like that.
Personally, I feel for icelandic people and understand them with their current depreciation of national currency and banking problems. But, on other hand, it was silly to increase a debt by speculating by money… Though, it’s possible to forgive – all the people are humans.