Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia sees the need to transition to national or alternative dollar currencies for settlements with other states, and also works on the refusal of payment systems controlled by the West. He told about it in an interview with IRNA.
“We also consider it to be important to increasing efforts to reduce sanctions risks and potential costs for economics,” the minister said. According to him, we are talking about steps aimed at “gradual dehydralization of national economies, the transition to mutual settlements in national or alternative dollar currencies, refusal to use international payment systems controlled by the West.”
“see in this direction great prospects for interacting with all interested foreign partners,” Lavrov said. He added that Moscow’s position regarding the sanction policy of Washington will not change, Russia declares the international sites about the “inadmissibility of the introduction of such restrictions”. “Our position enjoys broad support in the world community,” the Foreign Minister concluded.
On April 5, the Deputy Head of the Foreign Ministry, Alexander Pankin, admitted an alternative to the SWIFT payment system in Russia. According to him, taking into account the rapid development of digital currencies and the blockchain, the base for international settlements can be formed completely on a new technological basis. He added that the appearance of such a system will become not only a reaction to a modern geopolitical situation, but also the answer to the need to upgrade payment methods, taking into account achievements in the digital sphere.
Previously, the spokesperson of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov did not rule out that the United States in the desire to prescribe to Moscow will go to the most severe sanctions, including disconnect from SWIFT. On the ability to extend such sanctions to Russia again spoke at the end of last year. Moreover, sources in the team of the current president of the United States pointed out that such a measure would be an answer to the hacker attack, affecting the American Ministry of Finance, the State Department, the Ministry of Commerce and a number of state agencies.