MOSCOW IMF Deputy Managing Director Stanley Fischer said on Wednesday that Russia could resume borrowing on global capital markets, but only "in small amounts".

Interfax quoted Fischer as saying on the last day of his three-day fact-finding mission in Moscow: "I think it is not too early (to speak about borrowing) provided it's very small amounts."

The Russian government had earlier aired plans to raise $500 million (581.4 million euros) on foreign markets next year. It said it had no plans to borrow from the IMF itself in the immediate future.

Fischer, met Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin on Wednesday, also set out tough conditions for a possible debt restructuring agreement that could help Moscow cover the mountain of obligations that mature over the next two years, AFP reported.

A debt agreement "is not out of the question," said Fischer. "It depends how the external situation develops, but I think Russia should pay the debts if it can -- that's what debts are about."

Such a deal could be discussed if world prices on Russian energy exports suddenly plummet, or if the government "loses control of the budget," Fischer said.

But he stressed that Western investors expect Moscow to make a firmer commitment on debt.

"Countries should build a reputation that they are a reliable partner," Fischer said.

Russia will have to refund Western creditors about $18.8 billion (22.1 billion euros) under the current debt repayment schedule in 2003.

It has already pencilled in $14.5 billion in debt repayments in the 2002 budget -- sums that are coming due after a decade of Western assistance aimed at financing Russia's stop-start economic reforms.

Following a meeting on Monday with President Vladimir Putin, Fischer hailed Russia's economic progress achieved over the past year, saying Moscow had achieved "very impressive results" since his last visit here in April 2000.

He added that he had noticed that serious structural reforms have already been achieved by Putin's governments.

"We could only dream of this" when the last IMF program for Russia was being drawn up for Russia three years ago, Fischer said.

The Russian government earlier this month adopted the preliminary draft of a 2002 budget that foresees 3.5 percent growth in Russia and the first budget surplus since the fall of the Soviet Union.