Russian Ruble to Become Regional Reserve Currency
Rubles (observatordebacau.ro)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has announced on Wednesday that the country he leads is on the verge of succeeding in turning the ruble into a regional reserve currency, as the former Soviet republics use it for trade on a large scale.
In a meetings with lawmakers in Moscow, Putin said that the Russian national currency is gaining in strength and contributes to turning Moscow into an important international finance center.
Putin and Medvedev (karadeniz-press.ro)
Ukraine, whose economic ties with Russia have improved since the regime in Kiev has changed, requested that the energy products be settled in rubles, while Belarus is using rubles for 80 to 90 percent of its non-cash transaction with Russia.
Russia used its position as the largest energy supplier in the world to encourage the use of local currencies in trade and investment to the point of reducing trust in dollar.
Last June, at the economic forum in Sankt Petersburg, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said he wanted to boost the ruble’s role in the central reserve banks.
In order to make that happen, Russia is also using its position within BRIC, the state group comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Thus, Russia agreed with China to use ruble and yuan in trades between the two states, and negotiations have been launched with India and Brazil to the same purpose.
