RUSSIA-BELARUS AGREEMENT ON INTRODUCING SINGLE CURRENCY RATIFIED








MOSCOW, MARCH 14, 2001 /RIA Novosti correspondent Marina  Balynina/ -- The Federation Council, upper house of the Russian parliament, has ratified the Russian-Belarussian Agreement on  introducing a single monetary unit and forming a single issuing centre of the Union state. This decision was adopted by a  majority of votes. 


	Chairman of the upper house committee for CIS affairs Oleg Bogomolov noted that the agreement aims to set up a procedure for introducing a single monetary unit of the Union state as a result of stage-by-stage reforms in economic, financial and monetary  spheres of Russia and Belarus.  


	At the same time, Mr Bogomolov stressed that although the Russian ruble will act as a single monetary unit of the Union state since January 1, 2005, this agreement stipulates  possibility of using the Russian ruble as a single monetary unit of the Union state prior to this deadline should the required  economic and organisational preconditions be created. The  agreement reads that a single monetary unit of the Union state should be introduced from January 1, 2008 on the basis of the  agreements between Russia and Belarus, Mr Bogomolov stressed. 


	The senators have also ratified other international  agreements, specifically the agreement on the Black Sea states' cooperation in search and rescue operation at the Black Sea, the agreement between the governments of Russia and Azerbaijan on  principles of levying indirect taxes in mutual trade, as well as sixth protocol to the General Agreement on privileges and  immunities of the Council of Europe.