MOSCOW, April 1 (PRIME/RIA Novosti) - The Russian Central Bank is open for dialogue with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the bank's First Deputy Chairman Alexey Simanovsky said Tuesday.
"Concerning the position of the NBU, there are certain attempts to enter into negotiations. We would like to hope that they are successful," Simanovsky said while speaking to Russia's upper house of parliament.
"We are open to negotiations," he added.
Nevertheless, Simanovsky said the Bank of Russia has seen cases of suspension of consumer banking in Crimea by Ukrainian institutions.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Crimea on Monday, where he announced an ambitious plan aimed at meeting the needs of the citizens of the peninsula, which has recently reunited with Russia.
Speaking at the meeting in Crimea's capital Simferopol, Medvedev announced that Russia will designate Crimea as a special economic zone with tax breaks to attract investors. The prime minister also called for an opening of Russian bank branches across the peninsula, adding that provisions to provide loans in rubles have already been taken.
Medvedev also confirmed that an adequate supply of money has been made available to allow Crimeans to exchange into rubles all of their Ukrainian currency, which is to be phased out by the end of next year. He also vowed to protect private deposits at local banks, which total 90 billion rubles ($2.5 billion).
