In response to rising fears that the national currency is headed for a devaluation, an influential minister says Russia will not allow the ruble to fall dramatically, the Associated Press reported.
First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov says a sharp drop in the ruble would mean that Russia "has broken its promises to the people." He added that "everything that people have earned should be safe."
Shuvalov, the top deputy to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, says that if necessary, Russia will continue to spend billions of dollars to shore up its currency and the band within which the ruble trades is not going to be widened.
The ruble has declined steadily since the Aug. 7 start of the five-day war with Georgia, losing some 13 percent of its value against the dollar.