The Russian government is working on reducing the economy’s dependence on the dollar, including by boosting transactions in national currencies, the press service reported on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov told reporters that a plan on the de-dollarization of the country’s economy had been prepared and sumbitted to the government.
“It has already been submitted to the government,” Siluanov said.
His comment comes a day after remarks by President Vladimir Putin on the dollar’s credibility at Russian Energy Week 2018.
“It seems to me that our American partners are making a colossal strategic mistake, they are undermining confidence in the dollar as a universal, in fact, the only reserve currency today, undermining faith in it as this universal tool,” he elaborated.
On Wednesday, the Russian government’s press service announced that the authorities were working on a plan to reduce the economy’s dependence on the dollar:
“At the same time, the government, its financial and economic bloc, is working on the issue of reducing the economy’s dependence on the US currency, including by creating incentives and mechanisms to switch foreign trade settlements to national currencies. Work in this direction is not related to any personal initiatives expressed at various venues and reflects the strategic direction of the government,” the press service stressed.
The government’s plan, however, does not detail any restrictions or bans on transactions in dollars; it seeks to stimulate payments in national currencies and create appropriate mechanisms that will allow transactions in any currency without unnecessary losses.
The head of VTB Andrei Kostin earlier laid out his plan, which was endorsed by Siluanov, with four priority tasks that need to be implemented in order to reduce the country’s dependence on the dollar.
Earlier this week, The Bell reported, citing three sources with the knowledge of the discussion, that the Russian government was preparing a bill to abandon transanctions in US dollars.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
