‘Save yourself if you can’: More countries are seeking ways to dump the US dollar – Kremlin

September 18,2018

Countries around the globe are trying to find ways of substituting the US dollar in trade, according to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“All of a sudden, the country which issues the US dollar starts making steps which are shattering trust in this reserve currency. More and more countries, not only in the East but also in Europe, start mulling ways to minimize their dependence on the US dollar,” Peskov told Rossiya TV channel.

“They suddenly realize: A. it is possible, B. it should be done, and C. save yourself if you can, it should be done as soon as possible.”

Peskov noted that it is not easy to replace the dollar-dominated system, however, “the fact that the trend of searching for alternatives has begun” is noticeable.

Last week, Russia’s second largest bank CEO Andrey Kostin warned that countries will stop using the greenback as a settlement currency because of Washington’s aggressive policy. According to Kostin, the US uses the dollar as a weapon, which will inevitably make it unpopular across the globe.

The idea of switching to the use of national currencies in bilateral transactions has recently became more popular for a number of countries affected by US sanctions or trade tariffs. They include Russia, China, Iran and Turkey.