Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal on Tuesday that will create an integrated currency market within the borders of post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The accord, hammered out in December 2012, will grant Russian banks direct access to domestic foreign-exchange currency markets of five other CIS member states – Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Tajikistan.
Resident banks of signatories will be able to conduct foreign exchange transactions on more favorable terms than those offered to domestic commercial banks.
CIS is a regional organization formed by former Soviet Union members in the 1990s. The group aims to promote economic, political and cultural cooperation.
A common financial market within CIS aims at expanding the use of national currencies in foreign trade payments and boosting trade and economic cooperation between member states.