The Russian ruble could become a circulating currency in Crimea in a two weeks' time, Crimea's First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev told Interfax.
“The Ukrainian treasury has again blocked the accounts of the republic. Today this is not disastrous because we have set up an alternative system. But without fast efficient introduction in Crimea of the ruble it will be difficult to keep the financial situation stable, since Kyiv might limit volumes of the hryvnia in the peninsula. So the question of introducing the ruble is a matter of roughly two weeks,” Termigaliyev said.
In April Crimeans will be paid their salaries and pensions in rubles, he said.
“In April, both salaries and pensions, as well as prices, will be in rubles,” he said.
There should not be a sharp rise in consumer goods prices in Crimea once it joins Russia. “Certainly, we reserve the option of regulating prices for socially-significant goods. A day earlier we invited heads of the largest retail chains and asked them to do whatever is possible for warehouses to have enough food and prices to remain reasonable,” Temirgaliyev said.
