Russia urges allies to dump dollar and euro in trade

Russia should increase settlements in national currencies with partner countries, Denis Manturov, head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at the plenary session of the Innoprom international exhibition in Uzbekistan on Monday.

He was addressing countries within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), of which Russia is a member.

According to the minister, in 2021, the growth of Russia’s trade turnover with partners within these associations amounted to about 38%, while together these unions make up roughly half of the global economy. According to Manturov, the future of their successful cooperation depends on how fast Russia’s partners move away from the US dollar and the euro toward national currencies in mutual settlements.

“What is happening today in the global economy and in the world gives us a hint about how we need to rebuild our logistics, industrial cooperation, in what directions we can develop our economies. This [is] de-dollarization, and now we have added de-euroization, that is, the transition to our own currencies in order to be as independent as possible in terms of mutual settlements,” Manturov said.

The minister added that Western Europe and the US are now experiencing hyperinflation, which “affects the development of industrial sectors and the economy as a whole.” And reorienting cooperation within alliances which do not include the EU and the US to national currencies will give Russia’s partners maximum independence in the development of joint projects, he added.

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