Iran calls Syria to pay back debts of credit line
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – A source of the Syrian government reported to North Press that the sovereign debts, estimated in billions of dollars, on Syria from credit line funded by Iran are due payment.
The credit line is a kind of a financial facility and soft loans provided by banks and financial institutions to its trusted clients on concessional interest. The credit line implies that the client would borrow at times and pay back at other times as long as the line remains open, with the agreement on a specific amount and a deadline to pay.
The credit line is increasable once it is past due.
Iran says the Syrian government must reimburse or Iran will barter Syria over many items including crude phosphate, the source added.
Disagreements between the Syrian Ministry of Electricity and an Iranian company, months ago, on funding the signed contract has pushed Iran to halt the rehabilitation of Meharda station in Hama governorate.
€99,500,000 is the cost of Meharda station contract on condition of exchanging Syrian crude phosphate. However, no formula has been found to implement the exchange process yet.
In 2018, the Syrian government broke a promise it had made to Iran that Syria will sign investment contracts in the field of mining and extracts of phosphate, but it signed the contract with Russia instead of Iran, according to the source.
The military presence of Iran in Khneifis area, which is rich with phosphate, and in the vicinity of Syria’s largest phosphate mines, namely the east mines, is but Iran’s insistence to get a ‘fair share’ of Syria’s wealth in swap for its military and economic support it had provided to the Syrian government lavishly.