Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the credibility of the dollar is decreasing, thus making other countries wish to replace it with other currencies.
At the same time, Russian authorities currently have no specific plans on abandoning the use of the US dollar in international transactions but this issue is on Moscow’s agenda.
“Rather consistent and strong interest of certain countries in Europe, in the East, in the Middle East and so on to gradually minimize the use of the dollar in mutual trade can be seen. This process indeed exists. The Russian side has no specific plans yet on this issue but it is on our agenda,” Peskov told reporters.
The spokesman noted that many countries were holding talks and expert consultations, seeking to reduce the use of the dollar in mutual transactions in trade and investment.
“It is a natural process and a reaction of the countries, including Russia, to rather unpredictable actions of the United States, which are rather questionable in terms of norms and rules of international trade. Of course, this all leads to falling credibility of the dollar and emerging desire to substitute dollar with other currencies,” Peskov pointed out.
According to the spokesman, the Russian authorities aren’t considering the possibility of forced conversion of dollar bank deposits into ruble ones amid possible US sanctions against Russian banks.
“No, the administration is not planning such actions, there are no such plans at all, as far as I know,” Peskov told reporters when asked if there were any plans for the forced conversion of Russian clients’ deposits in dollars into ones in rubles.
An economic row between the US and a number of other countries, including Russia, China, Turkey and EU member-states emerged earlier this year after the US imposed import duties on steel and aluminum.
The Trump administration’s trade policies have prompted the countries to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods. At the same time, Iran, Russia and Turkey have reportedly been discussing a possible replacement of the US dollar by national currencies in trade transactions, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the US dollar as a lever of pressure, saying that Washington uses when it “wants to punish someone.”
Sourse: sputniknews.com
