We, being the Western world, wouldn't let Russia off the hook on debt. So there were demands on debt servicing in the early days until they ran out of reserves. There was no real aid program, just a fictional aid program.

The Russian drama began at the end of 1991, when the Soviet Union mercifully ended. Russia and 14 other new countries emerged from the ruins of the Soviet Union. Every one of those 15 new states faced a profound historical, economic, financial, social and political challenge.

Russia has gone through eight years of continuing economic pain.

Russia increasingly lived on short-term borrowing. Now, this was an extraordinary merry-go-round.

There is no doubt that Malawi needs 100 percent debt cancellation as soon as possible, and I will do everything possible to speed that up.

Let's start fresh with Russia on some real help and some real reform.