US discredited dollar by weaponizing it – Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that the long reign of the dollar as the world's trading benchmark is under threat. He forecast that settlements in national currencies will gain momentum and gradually become dominant across the globe.

“The transition to settlements in national currencies will actively gain momentum. It is inevitable … Such transactions, of course, will gradually become dominant. That’s the logic of sovereign economic and financial policy of a multipolar world,” the president said.

Putin also noted that the West has compromised the whole idea of a reserve currency system. “Using the dollar as a weapon, the United States, and the West as a whole, discredited the institution of international financial reserves, first devaluing them due to inflation in the dollar and the Eurozone, and later completely pocketing our foreign exchange reserves.”

The seizure of the Russian assets has made all nations think about whether to keep reserves in dollars, the president said. According to him, the international financial system should be independent and depoliticized.

“… Sovereign development must be ensured for all countries; the choice of any country must be respected. This is also important even in relation to the financial system … Of course, it must be based on the financial systems of the world's leading countries,” Putin stressed.

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