OREANDA-NEWS. On March 09, 2009 Reinoldijus Sarkinas, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, declared that the Bank of Lithuania had no intentions to change the current Litas exchange rate - it had been stable and would be stable, reported the press-centre of Bank of Lithuania.

Head of the central bank of the Republic of Lithuania urges politicians and media to express their opinion regarding the Litas exchange rate with all responsibility and not to provoke panic harmful to the public.

In his comments to citizens’ questions regarding this issue, Mr. Reinoldijus Sarkinas said: ” There are no any grounds for the Litas devaluation - that would be beneficial to no one and we would not solve any problems in this way”.

Head of the central bank of the Republic of Lithuania reminds about Lithuania’s obligation to maintain the current Litas exchange rate until the Euro introduction in our country.

”Rumours about the Litas devaluation are primarily harmful to the people who trust such gossip and run into commercial banks the exchange Litas into foreign currency. Tomorrow or after tomorrow they will have once again go to these banks and exchange that currency into Litas”- noted Mr. Reinoldijus Sarkinas.

As from 2 February 2002, the Litas is pegged to the euro at the fixed rate of LTL 3,4528 for 1 Euro.

As from 28 June 2004, Lithuania joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), which is one of the crucial steps needed to adopt the euro, by maintaining the existing Litas exchange rate regime and the fixed exchange rate of the Litas against the Euro.