USA: ROBERT RUBIN SPEAKS ON THE 1998 IMF LOANS TO RUSSIA

(20 Mar 1999) English/Nat

U-S Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says the International Monetary Fund made the right decision by providing emergency loans to Russia last summer.

This, despite the fact that part of that money ended up in foreign bank accounts held by rich Russians.

Rubin made the comments on Friday, a day which saw rumours flying in Washington that the respected financial secretary was going to resign.

Secretary Rubin spent part of Friday afternoon speaking to a conference on how the news media covers financial matters.

He sought to clarify comments made to Congress on Thursday in which he seemed to indicate that much of the nearly five (B) billion U-S dollars in loans given to Russia may have been siphoned off improperly.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The right framework in my opinion is that they made the right judgment probablistically in the context of everything they knew at the time the decision was made. That's a lot harder to report, but I think in fact it is the right framework for making the judgment and the problem with presenting it in the former way rather than in the latter way, is that then you create a general perception that the wrong decision was made about Russia, and a matter of fact I think it is not the case, I would absolutely make the same decision again base on everything we knew."
SUPER CAPTION: Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin

I-M-F critics have charged that the loans were wasted and I-M-F resources were used in a way that failed to rescue the Russian economy.

Rubin contends that the rescue attempt failed not because of the actions of wealthy investors but the lack of approval by the Russian parliament of the economic reforms needed to restore confidence.

As Rubin was speaking, rumours of his imminent resignation continue to surface in financial markets.

On the subject of whether he was considering resigning, Rubin offered his standard reply that he remained focused on the issues "in front of me".

SOUNDBITE:(English)
"About six months after I came to the White House, that's actually true, somebody wrote in a piece that I wasn't happy and that I was going to leave. And so for the last 5 and a half years people have periodically asked me, much more recently for the most part, and I give people the same answer all the time, that I am giving you right now, and that my mind is on the issues right in front of me."
SUPER CAPTION:Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin

Wall Street investors give Rubin a great deal of credit for the economic prosperity the country is now enjoying.

However, the rumours of his resignation were so strong that President Clinton was asked about the Secretary's plans during his first news conference in 11 months.

SOUNDBITE:(English)
"And I have not discussed Mr. Rubin's plans personally with him in quite a long while, maybe a year, I can't remember, it's been a really long while. He's served well, worked hard, I hope he'll stay. Goodness knows he's given this country a great deal and he's served us very well, but I do not know what his specific plans are. I'm aware of the rumors, but we haven't had a conversation about it.'
SUPER CAPTION: President Bill Clinton

President Clinton and Rubin are expected to meet Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov next week when the Russian leader visits Washington.

At that time, the issue of an additional 22 (B) billion U-S dollars in I-M-F loans are expected to discussed.

Primakov has said he hopes to complete negotiations with the I-M-F at that time for the new loans.

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