"They say Lukashenko is going to introduce the Russian ruble," Lukashenko said, before insisting that "our" Belarusian ruble would remain the national currency.
Lukashenko explained however that the recent summit of the Eurasian Economic Community, comprising Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, had discussed in Moscow the need to use the Russian ruble as a regional reserve currency.
"Now it is a good moment for Russia to make the Russian ruble a regional currency," Lukashenko said.
The Belarusian leader also said Belarus was currently unable to pay fully for Russian imports with Russian rubles in place of U.S. dollars or euros.
"This is why we will not be able to replace some $7-8 billion in mutual settlements with the Russian ruble," Lukashenko said. He also urged Russia to grant Belarus a loan to pay for Russian energy and metal supplies with the Russian ruble.
The Russia-Belarus Union was created in 1997 with the stated goal of reunifying the two former Soviet republics, but progress toward integration has been slow and the union is viewed by many as largely symbolic.
The Belarusian president also rejected the Belarusian opposition's claims that Belarus had made concessions to Russia in exchange for economic benefits.
"We do not pay as much for natural gas as Ukraine or Germany because we have very close relations with Russia," Lukashenko said, referring to the signing of a deal between Belarus and Russia on February 3 on an integrated regional air defense network.
Alexander Surikov, Russian ambassador to Belarus, earlier said the price of Russian natural gas for Belarus in 2009 would average $150 per 1,000 cu m.
The average European price for Russian natural gas currently stands at about $450 per 1,000 cu m.
