Russia-Belarus common currency plan in place but put off - Putin
ST. PETERSBURG. Oct 19 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said Russia and Belarus stick to a plan to introduce a common currency but made clear that Russia is not yet ready for the plan to be put into practice.
"We discussed this issue with Belarus for a very long time, we had certain plans, we've put them off, and we believe today that a common currency should sprout from an economic soil that has been prepared," Putin told a conference after a meeting in St. Petersburg of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC).
"Practical affairs will themselves dot the i's and show which is best," Putin said. "On the whole, we are willing to go ahead with this but not in a way that would land us in a situation like that in the eurozone, where they are wondering who to expel from the eurozone and who to keep in."