MOSCOW, December 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov will meet with senior Belarussian officials in Minsk Tuesday to discuss plans for the introduction of a single currency and the adjustments they need to be consistent with modern-day realities, a source in the Russian government told RIA.
The presidents of Russia and Belarus agreed in the middle of this year that the ruble would be introduced as a single currency in 2006, which prompted the necessity of updating the plan, the source said.
Belarus ties the signing of two agreements on the single currency to a couple of other agreements, unacceptable to the Russian side. The Belarussians want Russia to finance their budget deficit and to grant them a $2 billion compensation loan.
"The signing of such documents is unacceptable to Russia, and if the action plan fails to be signed before March 2005, technically we will not be able to launch the ruble as a single currency in the territory of Belarus," our interviewee said.
