Russia in no hurry to join new China-led Asian infrastructure bank
Moscow preoccupied by plans for Eurasian currency bloc and financial problems such as collapse in oil prices and Western sanctions: analysts
Russia remains conspicuously absent from the list of countries that have applied to be founding members of the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ahead of this Tuesday's deadline.
A report by RIA Novosti, a Russian-language news agency, this week cited comments by the country's deputy finance minister Sergei Storchak to the effect that Russia had not yet decided if it would apply for membership of the bank, to which China will contribute US$50 billion.
Many have pondered why China's global strategic partner has shown little interest in the fund, especially when several European and Pacific allies of the US - led by Britain - have joined in the past two weeks.
Analysts pointed to various possible financial, domestic and geopolitical reasons for Russia's indecision. "Russia is busy promoting the Eurasian Economic Union it leads, including the idea of forming a currency union with its founding members," said Li Lifan , deputy director of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Earlier this month, during a meeting with heads of the three founding members of the Eurasian Economic Union in the Kazakhstan capital, Astana, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed creating a currency union within the eight-member bloc.
Russia was also dealing with tough financial problems that would dampen its enthusiasm for joining the AIIB, Li said.
The country has suffered huge losses since international crude oil prices collapsed from US$115 a barrel in June to about US$54 by March 20.
Western sanctions against Russia over its dispute with Ukraine and rapid capital outflows have further affected its economic performance this year, reducing its capacity to help fund the AIIB.
Geopolitics could be another reason for Russia's reluctance to join the bank, which would serve mostly Asian countries, Li said, although the recent applications by eight European countries, including Britain, might rekindle Russia's interest in joining.
Lin Cheng-yi, a research fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies at Taiwan's Academia Sinica, said Russia had already pledged US$2 billion to the US$100 billion New Development Bank for the so-called Brics developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
