"Today, there are many questions regarding use of the US dollar as the main currency for payments for export contracts… What is going in the world today shows us that the dollar is unstable, so there is no certainty of what will happen to it tomorrow. This whole situation, coupled with the sanctions imposed on us and our partners, makes us think about the need to find other payment options," Shugaev said.
He noted that the partial transition to national currencies was already a decided matter.
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Relations between Russia and the United States have been deteriorating since 2014, when the crisis in Ukraine broke out. Washington and its allies, including the European Union, have since introduced several rounds of sanctions over Crimea's reunification with Russia and Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukraine conflict. Russia has refuted all the accusations and taken retaliatory economic measures.
