Russian FM accuses US of misusing Dollar’s status

MOSCOW (Sputnik): Previously, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow intended to “unburden” Russia’s economy from the dangerous monopoly of the US dollar, stressing that Washington’s restrictions against Moscow were breaking international trade principles.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Friday at an international investment council session that Washington is undermining the status of the US dollar in the long term by abusing it in the short term.

“We see direct abuse of the US dollar’s status and in the long term this, of course, will have a negative effect on the currency, because everyone understands how unreliable it is”, the minister said, adding that the US stance has resulted in “billions in economic losses” on the global markets due to the instability of the dollar.

At the same time, the minister criticised sanctions against the country.

“Our foreign policy, however, aims to provide the most favourable conditions for cooperation with foreign partners on a mutually beneficial basis and in all geographical areas.

In short, this cooperation is hindered by the illegitimate unilateral sanctions bypassing the UN Security Council, which have been imposed mostly on far-fetched ‘highly likely’-based pretexts”, he concluded.

Earlier this year, the Russian Central Bank stockpiled a considerable amount of gold and cut its dollar foreign exchange reserves from a whopping 46 percent in 2017 to 22 percent this March.