Russia’s Putin: ‘De-dollarization’ of World Economy Inevitable

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the process to excise the dollar from the world economy is “inevitable” as his country is coping with “financial and technological aggression by some countries.”

Addressing the Russian cabinet on Monday, Putin suggested discussing the country’s budget for the next three years.

“There are disputes about what to pay more attention to, where to direct more funds or (whether it is better) to save more and create a ‘safety cushion,’ how to create it in new conditions and what is a ‘safety cushion’ in modern conditions, when we have a well-known and inevitable process of de-dollarization,” said the president.

Moscow fast-tracked de-dollarization when the US Treasury Department decided to confiscate Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, after Putin ordered a military offensive in Ukraine back in February.

Ever since, Russia has been under harsh sanctions. In turn, Russia has downgraded or cut off gas supplies to Europe, triggering an energy crisis there.

Putin said that Moscow confidently coped with external pressure that he described as “financial and technological aggression by some countries.”

He noted that the government had promptly implemented effective protective measures and launched mechanisms to support key industries, system-forming enterprises, as well as small and medium-sized businesses.

All the measures, he said, are aimed at preventing “a sharp decline in the economy.”

Putin said responsible macroeconomic policy pursued in previous years paid off in crisis, and now the state of the Russian budget was much better than those in the economies of the world’s 20 richest countries (G20) and BRICS countries and so it was necessary to follow that line further.

In a move to reduce its reliance on a global financial system dominated by the United States and its Western allies, Moscow began the policy of barring the use of the US dollar in transactions on the Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest financial services marketplace.

Source: Agencies (edited by Al-Manar English Website)