Russian, ASEAN Energy Companies May Trade in National Currencies

Energy companies from Russia and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states may use national currencies as well as US dollars for mutual settlements in the future, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian resort city of Sochi is hosting the Russia-ASEAN summit on May 19-20. The summit is being attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of ASEAN member states, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Laos.

"I think that this is a promising direction," the minister said during an interview with the Rossiya-24 channel when answering a question regarding non-dollar transactions with ASEAN countries.

Russian companies already have experience in non-dollar trade, he added, noting that there is a current energy contract being settled in the yuan.

"From the perspective of diversification, I think that this possibility will be implemented," he said.

Ahead of the summit, Putin said that Russia and Indonesia have great potential for expanding cooperation in the energy sector, adding that Russia's Zarubezhneft and Rosneft energy companies have large-scale projects in Indonesia.

In November, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that Moscow and Beijing had doubled the amount of trade operations made in their national currencies in the past year.