The US currency is used to undermine the competitive rights of other countries, Russia’s foreign minister says
© Getty Images / John Lund
The US dollar is being used as an instrument for regime change and interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and “everyone” is “tired” of the greenback, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, stated on Thursday.
The global trend towards using national currencies in trade instead of the US dollar began to gain momentum last year after Ukraine-related sanctions saw Russia cut off from the Western financial system and also saw its foreign reserves frozen.
“Everyone is already tired of the dollar, which is becoming a tool of influence, a tool for undermining the legitimate competitive rights of countries in different regions, and a tool for interference in internal affairs and regime change,” Russia’s top diplomat said in an interview with Rossiya24 and RIA Novosti.
Lavrov earlier accused the US and its EU allies of using a wide range of “geopolitical” tools, which include, among other things, “unleashing trade and economic wars.” He noted that Russia and many other countries are now “consistently” reducing their dependence on Western currencies by switching to alternatives for foreign trade settlements.
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His remarks come as the Russian ruble rallied against major currencies on Thursday, jumping to its highest against both the dollar and the euro since mid-December, trading data from the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) shows. The ruble had strengthened to 89.30 to the US dollar as of 14:30 GMT.
Experts note that the ruble is strengthening as Russia’s central bank plans to conduct currency operations on the domestic foreign exchange market in early January related to replenishment and using reserves from the National Wealth Fund.
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