YEREVAN. – The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member countries can and should strive for single currency, Garegin Tosunyan, chairman of the Association of Russian Banks, told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his words, even though we currently cannot speak of such single currency in the near future, these countries can and possibly should strive for it, especially if we consider the Russian ruble prevalence in these countries. As per Tosunyan, a single currency can be a good basis for negotiations.

And when asked whether it will be possible to create a legal basis for an EAEU single currency by the year 2025, he responded: “We hope that they [i.e. the EAEU countries] will reached an agreement [to that effect].” 

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin had stated that a single currency can be introduced within the EAEU; but only after when all the member countries become level with one another in terms of their level of development.

The Eurasian Economic Union comprises Armenia Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.