Currency swaps: Medvedev, Miasnikovich want Belarus to more actively use Russian ruble
Belarus and Russia should use the Russian ruble more broadly in mutual transactions, Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Miasnikovich told his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev at the session of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia on Tuesday.
The meeting discussed the need of the two countries’ closer work on currency and financial issues, BelTA reports.
“I believe that in the modern situation for the sake of expanding our mutual Russian-Belarusian trade and investment cooperation it is necessary to use the Russian ruble more broadly in transactions. I think it is an objective reality that we have to reckon with,” Miasnikovich said.
In his turn, when making a statement for the press, Dmitry Medvedev noted that Russia and Belarus should consider national currency swaps.
“A whole number of markets is closed for Russia at present. And we need to build mutual long-term currency positions,” news agency TASS quotes Medvedev as saying. “This refers to the possibility of using currency swaps opened in national currencies and the possibility of using the Russian ruble as a payment means more actively.”
As Belsat reported earlier with a reference to Agriculture and Food Minister Leanid Zayats, in spite of increasing food exports to the Russian Federation Belarus has been losing money due to the Russian ruble’s devaluation.
