Azerbaijan's private bank temporarily suspends rouble operations

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The Russian rouble transactions, both cash and non-cash, in Azerbaijan's PASHA Bank "Internet Bank" service are temporarily restricted, Trend has reported.

It was reported that the decision was made due to the situation with the Russian rouble in the financial markets.

The volatility of the national currency in Russia has increased dramatically over the past few days: the price of the U.S. dollar went up from about 80 to 140-190 roubles in some banks.

In this regard, the Bank of Russia's board of directors decided to increase the key rate from February 28, 2022, to 20 percent per annum.

The volatility of the Russian national currency happens against the background of the recent events around Russia and Ukraine.

On February 26, the United States, European allies and Canada agreed to remove key Russian banks from the interbank messaging system, SWIFT. 

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that in response to the appeal of the leaders of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Lugansk People's Republic" decided to conduct a special military operation in Eastern Ukraine. 

The Ukrainian authorities introduced martial law throughout the entire territory. Ukrainian media report explosions in a number of cities. It was also reported that several Azerbaijanis have been killed and injured in Ukraine.

The Foreign Ministry recommended Azerbaijani citizens, who are in serious danger in Ukraine, to leave the country in the direction of Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.