Moscow - The Russian ruble will be used as a second official currency in Crimea alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia for several months, Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksionov told Interfax on March 18.
“There will be a certain period of simultaneous circulation of these two currencies – from two months to half a year,” the premier said.
“An appropriate concept is being formulated now. There have been no such precedents. Any practices that would help us determine an exact timeframe for this transitional period are also absent,” Aksionov said.
Aksionov said on March 16 that the process of Crimea’s integration into Russia would take up to one year.
“This could happen at a more rapid pace, but we do not want to have any tight integration period. We do not want to completely cut off ties. We would like to maintain relations with businesses, including in Ukraine. We do not want the population to lose anything,” he said.
Crimean voters made their choice in favor of joining Russia at a referendum, held on March 16.
