Dhaka, Oct. 27 -- Russia is pressing Bangladesh for allowing its Sberbank to establish a liaison or branch office for helping resolve multi-million dollar outstanding payments for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and defense equipment.

The proposal was made during recent high-level meetings in Moscow between the Ambassador of Bangladesh and Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers, Mikhail Galuzin and Andrey Rudenka, according to an official document.

The Russian side explicitly linked the Sberbank office to the immediate need to settle hundreds of millions of dollars in overdue payments for Bangladesh's most strategic bilateral projects, sources added.

Following the proposal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally requested the Ban...