Russian ruble could be used more actively in BRICS transactions: Putin

BRASILIA, Nov 14, 2019, Sputnik. The ruble could be used more actively in financial transactions between the BRICS countries as Russia enjoys a stable macroeconomic situation and the Russian currency is fully convertible, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, Sputnik reported.

“I would like to emphasize that the Russian national currency – the ruble – is fully and freely convertible to any world currency. Bearing in mind the stable macroeconomic situation in our country, the ruble can be an additional means of payment between our countries and fully complies with all these requirements,” said Putin at a meeting with members of the BRICS business council and the New Development Bank officials during the BRICS summit in Brazil.

Vladimir Putin is taking part in the ongoing two-day summit of BRICS member states — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — in Brasilia.

For the last two years, several countries have announced their intention to reduce the use of the US dollar in their trade with partners, in part due to Washington threatening sanctions on those, who trade with Iran and Venezuela. Among them are Russia and other BRICS states, as well as Turkey and Iran, which was slapped with hefty US sanctions in November 2018.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier argued during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2019 that the era of global “dollar dominance” might come to an end soon. He opined that this could happen due to Washington “abusing” the status of its currency to punish those that the US doesn’t like.