RUSSIAN PLAN IS UNREALISTIC

Yaraslau Ramanchuk, an expert from the Minsk-based Strategiya think tank, told Belapan that Russia's proposal to introduce the Russian ruble as the common currency of Russia and Belarus on 1 January 2004 is a "propagandist move" rather than a realistic plan of action. "There would be a sense in switching over to a common currency if the [Russian] currency was stable [and] enjoyed the confidence of investors and trading partners. The Russian ruble is not a hard currency," Ramanchuk added. Another Belarusian expert, Valery Dashkevich, said Russia's currency integration proposals can hardly be implemented since they imply "the incorporation of Belarus into the Russian Federation." "If the plan is accepted, the National Bank of Belarus will turn into the Russian Central Bank's main office for Belarus, which contravenes the Belarusian Constitution," Dashkevich added.