MOSCOW- Belarus will channel about $330 million of its new loan from Russia to cover its outstanding debt to Russian gas giant Gazprom, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said, TASS news agency reported on Sunday.

Russia will send Belarus the first $1 billion tranche of a $1.5 billion loan by the end of the year and provide the remainder of the loan in 2021.

The loan would help Belarus and its state companies honour their debt obligations and support financial stability in the ex-Soviet country, Siluanov said earlier this week. 

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by David Clarke) ((andrey.ostroukh@thomsonreuters.com; +7 495 775 1242;))