MOSCOW, December 1 (Sputnik) – The authorities of the self-proclaimed people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR) are holding talks with Abkhazia, discussing the possibility of Abkhazian banks opening branches in Donbas (Ukraine's south-eastern regions), the Russian Izvestia newspaper reports.
"Talks between Novorossiya [the DPR and LPR union] and Abkhazia are being conducted at a high level, but a final decision has not been reached yet," Izvestia reported Monday, citing a DPR source.
Talks are also being held with other foreign banks, according to the newspaper.
In mid-November, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued a decree ordering Ukrainian banks to stop serving the accounts of Donbas enterprises and residents within one month.
LPR head Igor Plotnitsky has called Poroshenko's economic blockade of south-eastern Ukraine an act on genocide and devastation of the people in the region.
Addressing the same issue, DPR Deputy Prime Minister Denis Pushilin said the republic's authorities have started to work on the implementation of a dual-currency system. According to Pushilin, state lawyers are currently working out the feasibility of trading with Russia in roubles "while remaining within the legal field".
Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev has called the possibility of introducing a dual-currency system in Donbas technically possible, but inconvenient and inefficient.
