Russia assessing probability of ditching US dollar

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin has said that it is early to talk about the ditching of the US dollar.

He assessed the likelihood of such a decision within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in an interview with TASS.

The deputy foreign minister noted that some EAEU member states as opposed to Russia will use the US dollar when it is appropriate and safe.

At the same time, Pankin stressed that the EAEU member states are aware of the risks of dependence on the US currency.

The diplomat also called the US dollar extremely unreliable.

“We have seen that one country can limit the use of the US dollar around the world without hesitation. In fact, Washington seeks to monopolise the international settlements. All this prompted us to intensify work on the creation of alternative and reliable mechanisms,” he said.

Pankin noted that during the activity of the EAEU, the use of the US dollar in the EAEU member states has decreased by 21 percent, and payments in national currencies between them have reached 75 percent of the total volume of transactions.

The deputy foreign minister also said that Russia would ditch the "toxic" US dollar and euro in trade, economic and investment relations with partners.