MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has paid off the remaining $563 million Soviet-era debt to the United Arab Emirates, the Finance Ministry press service said Friday.

"On November 2, Vnesheconombank transferred $562.62 million to the Emirates. The debt was paid from the Stabilization Fund," the ministry said.

The credit was incurred from a 1991 loan that the UAE granted the Soviet Union to finance so called critical imports and to service its foreign debt.

In a period spanning 1996-2006, Russia partially repaid the debt with commodity shipments, clearing it completely on Friday.