Russian rouble can ‘claim the role of reserve currency’

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said its possible to use the rouble as a reserve currency.

"We hear more and more statements about reserve currencies," the president said at the APEC CEO summit, claiming the "Rouble can claim for the role of reserve currency. The rouble is used more and more frequently in the settlements in the former Soviet republics," the president noted at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, being held in the Russian city of Vladivostok."The possibilities for the use of regional currencies should be expanded as well," Putin believes. "This will build up the international financial system," he added.There are reasons to be optimistic about use of the Russian rouble in bilateral trade with Asia-Pacific countries, CEO of Russia’s Vneshekonombank (VEB) Vladimir Dmitriev believes.“We hope that will be the case. In order to achieve the globalisation of the rouble as a currency bilateral or multilateral trade we as a bank and we as a state we use different channels bilaterally with China for instance and multilaterally inside that Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and within the BRICs group. There are obvious results which allow me to be rather optimistic than pessimistic in this regard,” Dmitriev told RT.Russia hopes to start trading in national currencies within several international organizations and there are specific countries to talk about in this regard, he continued. “I would mention India, probably Brazil but in a later stage. China and India are obvious examples of that sort of cooperation. Of course this is an issue which is apart from the global task to make Moscow an international financial centre, and it's obvious that finding a proper solution we have to look at our neighbour countries like Ukraine or Kazakhstan and Belarus,” Dmitriev said. “In Ukraine and Belarus we have banks owned by VEB and among other things that task is to provide bilateral trade to be secured by the local currencies and the rouble first and foremost. It's not a very difficult issue we have to look at technicalities to do so but economically we are prepared to do that.”