The two are obviously connected. Belarus in return for yet more cash. It fits all the criteria. The IMF, for its part, has been desperately trying to give the Russians more money. An IMF delegation has been in Russia for weeks, which no doubt explains Moscow's emollience towards the attacks on Yugoslavia.
Nothing is clear.
Everything is difficult. No doubt what he really means is that the Russians are being difficult. Faced with this embarrassment, European officials, such as the president of the ECB, Wim Duisenberg, insisted that they were in for the long term. Indeed they are. Factors in the currency's continued fall include the war in Kosovo but also the low growth predictions for the euro zone and the falling inflation rates there, which suggest that interest rates may perhaps continue to be cut.