Litas devaluation out of question

VILNIUS (BNS) - No changes concerning re-orientation of the Lithuanian national currency, the litas, have been planned for the next six months, the central bank's board chairman, Reinoldijus Sarkinas, said.

"We have committed ourselves to announce any changes in advance, therefore, the absence of an announcement means no changes," Sarkinas told the Baltic News Service Aug. 23.

Sarkinas said the central bank is constantly investigating the situation. However, the debates on the issue have been put off until this fall, in line with a previous agreement with the government.

The head of the Bank of Lithuania did not rule out a possibility that the discussions could start as soon as next month, stressing that devaluation of the litas is out of the question. Certain changes in Lithu---anian laws will be made together with the government, therefore, the process could last longer than expected, said Sarkinas.

Up until now, there were only talks about an amendment to the litas reliability law, which would allow to abandon the current peg of the litas to the U.S. dollar in favor of a basket of the U.S. dollar and euro.

Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas had said earlier that any decisions with regard to re-orientation of the national currency should not be made until next year.