MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin does not rule out introduction of a single currency of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) (Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan) in future.
However, doing this will be possible only after the economies of the EAEU members are equal.
"Perhaps once it will become possible, but at that stage, when the level of economic development and economic structure of the countries belonging to the Eurasian Economic Union is equal," the head of state said during his annual televised Q&A session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin."
In his opinion, Russia should not repeat the mistakes of the European Union.
"We should by all means avoid the mistake the European Union made when it introduced the single currency and the levels of the economies greatly differed from each other," Putin said.
In his opinion, that error causes "such difficulties as with Greece", when there are handouts from the common pot, but these handouts do not contribute to the development of economy, he said.
"In our Union we should take into account all these concerns and move step by step. And, of course, this is a voluntary thing [introduction of the single currency], we should have a full consensus when we all want it - Russia and our partners in the EAEU," the Russian leader said.
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