Belarus is not in talks with Russia to introduce the Russian ruble, the information service of the National Bank of Belarus said commenting on the revived speculations about the introduction of the Russian ruble as the only payment instrument in Belarus. “The speculations about the introduction of the Russian ruble as the only payment instrument in Belarus have emerged again. We would like to note that the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation are constantly working to expand the use of the Russian and Belarusian ruble in mutual payments between economic operators of the two countries and to create the necessary conditions for that. At the same time, the introduction of the Union State currency in Belarus will make sense only if the two countries reach certain agreements as well as terms of a common economic and monetary policy,” the press service said. The National Bank believes that the number one task right now is to enhance the financial stability. The very introduction of a foreign currency (Russian ruble, US dollar, and euro) will not strengthen the macroeconomic stability and secure foreign trade balance. The transition to a foreign currency basically means the refusal from an independent monetary policy, which will reduce the county’s capability to use monetary instruments to respond to economic shocks, while fiscal instruments might not be enough. This might slow down economic growth or lead to economic recession and increase the jobless rate. Besides, the National Bank will no longer be the lender of last resort and will not be able to use other mechanisms to secure stability of the banking sector if needed. These factors significantly impede the unilateral transition to a foreign currency and threaten potentially high costs of the transition for the national economy. Therefore, the National Bank underlined that the use of the Russian ruble in Belarus is not on the agenda now. The establishment of the currency union and introduction of the single currency should agree with the interests of the both countries, contribute to their sustainable economic growth and well-being of people. Therefore, the introduction of a new single currency and the establishment of the currency union might be a logical outcome of integration following the complete formation of the free trade zone, the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space. БЕЛТА
Written by belta.by
