Reserve status for ruble hinges on long-term budget deficit - Dvorkovich
MOSCOW. Sept 15 (Interfax) - The Russian ruble could become a reserve currency if export contracts for oil and gas are switched from the dollar to the national currency and if long-term ruble securities are issued, which is linked to the federal budget deficit, Presidential Advisor Arkady Dvorkovich said while speaking at the International Financial University in Moscow on Tuesday.
"If you want the currency to be a reserve it is necessary to have a powerful and liquid market of financial instruments in this currency. But this country will have a long-term budget deficit, because otherwise it would be impossible to form 'long' debt securities," he said.
"The question is whether we want to have a long-term federal budget deficit," Dvorkovich said.