The Belarussian president, Alexander Lukashenko, has predicted that currency union with Russia will not take place in the near future.

Mr Lukashenko said on Russian television that the project would take time, and might not even happen under his presidency.

He added that it was mainly Russia that was not yet ready for a currency union.

Mr Lukashenko and the Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, signed a declaration in Moscow last week pledging immediate steps towards a merger, with referenda on the proposals possibly being held in both countries by the middle of next year.