Russia, Belarus use national currencies in over 80% of settlements

The number of settlements where Russia and Belarus use national currencies in trade has exceeded 80%, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Volvach said at a press conference on 26 December, BelTA has learned.

According to Dmitry Volvach, Belarus and Russia are implementing 28 Union State programs that were approved by the Supreme State Council of the Union State in November 2021. When asked about the need for a single currency, he said: “We have not yet fully realized the potential that lies in the development and increase of mutual settlements in national currencies. This trend is relevant for the Eurasian Economic Union. Russia and Belarus have reached, perhaps, the highest rate of transition to national currencies, which is more than 80% in commodity turnover. I think that the prospects are even bigger.”

“Today, our regulators see no need to pedal the transition to some kind of supranational and single union currency,” said the deputy minister. “Our national currencies are good at maintaining and ensuring our mutual trade turnover, liquidity of our mutual commitments and other interstate payments. I think we still have work to do to make our mutual infrastructure - financial, payment, and exchange - even more integrated, even more harmonious, allowing our participants in foreign economic activity to work both in commodity and financial markets in terms of a harmonized regulation.”

“Today we still have a lot to work on in terms of the implementation of the maximum possible transition to the national currencies of our countries,” Dmitry Volvach.