Uzbek President Proposes Russian Ruble As A Means Of Payment In CIS

President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan has suggested that the CIS countries use the Russian ruble as a means of payment in the future. He made a statement to the effect on Friday at a Kremlin press conference wrapping up the CIS summit. At the same time, Karimov named the only condition, i.e. that the Russian ruble should be strong. He also noted that currently both the Russian economy and the Russian ruble are being consolidated. "If the ruble is strong, we will have no other option," the Uzbek president said, smiling.