"The Czech business is watching the situation with the Russian ruble with great concern. Our entrepreneurs naturally assume that the ruble's weakening will have a significant impact on trade with partners in Russia," Masopust said.
He went on to say that Czech companies working primarily with Russian partners and firms from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are very worried, although there were no immediate effects of Tuesday's dive of the Russian national currency.
Masopust named sanctions imposed on Russia by the West and the decrease of oil prices among the reasons contributing to the current economic situation in Russia. He noted that the situation influenced Czech exporters, too.
According to the Czech National Bank, the goods trade between Russia and the Czech Republic accounted for 4.5 percent of the European country's total trade in 2013. The same year, Russia was the republic's seventh largest exporter and the fifth largest importer.
