The Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan could well adopt a single currency at some point in the future, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Friday.
"I would not rule out the possibility in the long run of a switch to a unified monetary space," Shuvalov said at the CIS international economic forum in Moscow.
The powerful deputy prime minister said one of Russia's paramount tasks as president of the CIS in 2010 was establishing a unified payment system among the member-states. Last year, the rotating CIS presidency was held by Moldova.
"In the financial sphere, it is crucial to draft and ratify a concept and course of action to establish a single payment system based on the currencies used in CIS countries," he said.
When asked which currency may become the single one, Shuvalov said that the decision should be left to the counties' leaders.
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed in late November 2009 an agreement to create a customs union, paving the way for a single economic space. The agreement came into force on January 1, when the three countries introduced common foreign trade tariffs.
In June 2009, Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus notified the WTO of their intention to join the world trade club as a customs union, but four months later the three former Soviet republics announced they would resume talks on accession separately, but working from synchronized positions.
MOSCOW, March 5 (RIA Novosti)
