"The Belarussian National Bank and the Russian Central Bank are now working out measures to introduce the Russian ruble on Belarussian territory from January 2006," he said.
Mr. Prokopovich noted that "the decision to introduce the Russian ruble on Belarussian territory from 2006 does not depend on the two central banks."
"The resolution of the issue depends on the governments of the two countries and on their implementation of the economic program on the creation of equal conditions for economic entities and a common customs space of the Russia-Belarus Union," said Mr. Prokopovich.
He stressed that the strict tying of the Belarussian national currency to the Russian ruble might start from the middle of next year.
"To introduce from January 1, 2006 the Russian ruble on Belarussian territory, it will be sufficient for the country's banking system to have the Belarussian ruble tied in to the Russian ruble for six months," said Mr. Prokopovich.
He noted that this tie-in "actually exists today."
Devaluation of the Belarussian national currency against the Russian currency from the year start totaled 1.3%, said Mr. Prokopovich.
"This is really a strict tie-in. If next year the devaluation is less than 1%, the statement on the strict tying of the Belarussian ruble to the Russian ruble will sound more like a formality," he added.
Speaking about Russia and Belarus transferring to the Russian ruble in cashless settlements, Mr. Prokopovich said this depended "on the Russian side."
"For the time being, the Russian Federation has made no radical steps and settlements in the Russian rubles total 35% in bilateral trade," said the chief Belarussian banker.
He specified that this was "an issue for negotiations." "If the Russian side is ready, we can start settlements between enterprises in Russian rubles," said Mr. Prokopovich.
