Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the abuse of the U.S. dollar as a political instrument has caused other nations to be concerned about potential roadblocks to using the currency in the future.
Kremlin Warns: Global Concerns Grow Over Dollar's Political Use
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Kremlin Highlights Nations’ Concerns on the U.S. Dollar Weaponization
The Kremlin has referred to the negative reactions that the current strategy surrounding the U.S. dollar is causing in world nations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to the subject, claiming that while not all nations were prepared to halt U.S. dollar usage, this weaponization strategy has undoubtedly brought some of them to consider alternatives.
According to Russian official news agency TASS, Peskov stated:
All the countries understand in some way that nowadays, when, for example, the global reserve currency, the US dollar, is started to be used as an instrument in attempts to suppress one of world’s countries, Russia in this case, everyone understands this may occur with everyone.
This reference to suppression has to do with the enactment of unilateral sanctions against the country due to its involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As a result, the U.S. and the European Union (EU) blocked access to an estimated $300 billion in Russian assets, and have recently prepared a framework to fund an aid loan with their proceedings.
Read more: Critics: G7’s $50 Billion Russian Assets-Backed Loan Might Upset the West’s Financial Stability
Nonetheless, Peskov clarified that Russia’s actions, seeking an alternative to the U.S. dollar, were not directed to affect the currency in any way but only to keep conducting business with its trade partners. For him, the enactment of these sanctions and the weaponization of the dollar was a mistake made by people who “simply did not understand consequences.”
“We are not doing it against the dollar, we do it for ourselves, for our partners. And therefore we have already achieved the use of national currencies with the whole range of countries, and we make the lion’s share of our mutual settlements in local currencies, in national currencies,” Peskov emphasized.
China, one of Russia’s largest trade associates, holds over $3.3 trillion as part of its forex reserve. Economists are calling for a pivot in the management strategy of these resources fearing possible actions against the usability of these funds.
Read more: Reserves Threatened: China Urged to Dedollarize Its $3.3 Trillion Forex Stash
