Russia to switch to national currencies in transactions with foreign partners

Russia is considering switching to national currencies in trade payments with foreign partners, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

"The issue of switching to national currencies - not only in payments between Russia and its partners in the Eurasian space, but also between Russia and our other partners in Asia and other regions of the world, is now on the agenda," Lavrov told representatives of the European Business Association in Moscow.

It's an objective task powered by the current processes in the international currency relations, he said.

"In a situation where unfavorable processes are surrounding the euro, when dollar-denominated payments often become victim to unilateral and illegitimate, from the point of view of international law, sanctions introduced by the American government, more attention is being focused on the need for a more stable pool of global reserve currencies, Lavrov explained.

Russia's EurAsEc partners support the idea, he said.

"Naturally, this task is not a matter of the near future, but it\'s on the agenda of debates on further integration," the minister said.

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