Putin at BRICS: Russia not abandoning US dollar but seeking alternatives

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he was looking for options that could become an alternative to the US dollar, noting that this is not an attempt to abandon the use of this currency.

At a meeting of the BRICS summit in the enlarged composition, the Russian leader drew attention to the use of the dollar as a weapon to achieve political goals, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“But we are not the ones doing it, other people are doing it. We do not refuse, we do not fight the dollar, but if we are not allowed to work with it, what can we do? We are then forced to look for other alternatives, which is what is happening,” Putin emphasised.

The BRICS summit in Kazan, attended by representatives of 36 countries and six international organisations, kicked off on October 22. The summit will be the final event of the Russian Federation's chairmanship in the association, which is held under the motto of strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security.

The BRICS bloc, which originally began as BRIC in 2006, encompasses some of the world’s largest emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which joined in 2010. BRICS positions itself as a counterbalance to Western-dominated institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. 

By Khagan Isayev