BERLIN, Sept 20 Reuters Raiffeisen Bank International said on Friday it is selling its Belarus business at a loss to an investor from the United Arab Emirates, as the Austrian lender faces mounting pressure to also pare back its Russian arm.

RBI has vowed to spin off its Russian business, which has provided a payment lifeline to hundreds of companies there, after pressure from international regulators on the biggest Western bank in remaining in the country.

But more than two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, little has changed. RBI39;s move in Belarus indicates willingness to sever ties to countries in Moscow39;s sphere of influence.

RBI said the deal would trigger a loss of around 300 million euros 335 million. That indicates it sold the local bank for roughly that amount half of its 600 million euros in equity.

The bank in Belarus had around 2 billion euros of deposits and more than 1600 staff.

A spokesperson for RBI said the ultimate beneficiary of the buyer, Soven 1 Holding, is UAEbased Suhail Al Otaiba. The sale is set to be wrapped up by the end of this year.

RBI has been a critical financial lifeline for millions of Russian customers who want to send euros or dollars abroad, although it has recently curtailed such services.

Western regulators want to dismantle this bridge between Moscow and the West and the European Central Bank is demanding Raiffeisen pare back its Russia business.

Although Italy39;s UniCredit also has a business in Russia and is under…