ONE COMMON CURRENCY?

A1+
[08:19 pm] 10 February, 2009

"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.