ONE COMMON CURRENCY?

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“The RA Prime Minister’s announcements made on “Mir” interstate television introducing the common currency in the CIS refer to trading in rubles with CIS countries and not the ruble zone. They are different concepts and must not be misinterpreted,” told “A1+” RA Prime Minister’s press speaker Diana Mnatsakanyan touching upon the issue of whether the Prime Minister’s statements are not directly tied to the rumors that Armenia is moving to the ruble zone.

The Armenian PM also mentioned that “Armenia has a package of proposals and the Central Bank made proposals for the common currency three years ago” and added: “If the central banks of all CIS countries start relying on that currency and consider it their reserve currency, this will be the first step towards trading in rubles in those countries. This means that the Central Bank of Armenia must consider the ruble as its reserve currency and we must do everything we can to make that happen.”

The PM’s statements come after the preliminary agreement made by Armenian and Russian governments to grant Armenia a 500 million dollar loan to mitigate the negative effects of the global financial downturn on Armenia’s economy.

Although the RA Ministry of Finances reports that the “preliminary deal does not presuppose any financial obligations on the part of Armenia”, there are rumors in the presses that the loan to be granted is in exchange for entering the ruble zone.