Putin: Washington’s policy pushes Russia away from US dollar

MOSCOW, Nov 30 (PRIME) -- Washington’s policies undermine the significance of the dollar as a reserve currency and deters Russia from using it in relations with the partners, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during the Russia Calling! investment forum.

“I didn’t say that the U.S. dollar lost its status of a reserve currency and of a universal global currency for settlements. I only said that the policy of the political authorities of the U.S. undermines the dollar and pushes us away from the dollar zone,” he said.

Russia doesn’t want to stop dollar settlements, and the Russian oil and gas companies use the dollar as the main settlement currency. But Washington prevents Moscow from using the dollar with the defense partners.

“We simply have to get away (from the U.S. dollar). They are slapping sanctions on the goods unconnected with the defense industry, so it makes dollar settlements more difficult. The U.S. authorities create problems with their own hands. As a result, the amount of dollar settlements decreased in the world, not just in Russia, and in the foreign exchange and gold reserves as well, their share in the reserves fell to 59% from 61% in the world in general,” Putin said.

The main trend today is an increase of the amount of the reserve currencies. The Arab countries are working on their reserve currency, the euro is improving, and settlements in national currencies are rising, but Russia will not reject the U.S. dollar.

“We will continue working with the dollar as long as the dollar wants it. If it doesn’t want it, then fine, we will cut it,” he said.

He said that the most important goal for Russia is to reduce volatility of the ruble for settlement with other states in the national currency.

“If we think about having settlements with our partners in the framework of the CIS and cooperation with the former Soviet Union republics -- and the amount of settlements in rubles is rising -- the most important task for us is to reduce volatility. It is absolutely obvious, that is why we are working on maintaining macroeconomic stability and the macroeconomic indicators,” Putin said.

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