Venezuelan Foreign Minister confirms de-dollarisation of Russian trade

Moscow/Caracas – The Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Yvan Gil Pinto, currently visiting Russia, has announced de-dollarisation from the ongoing bilateral trade with Russia. Foreign Minister Pinto also clarified that the two countries have agreed on this, and the process of using the national currencies is in the final stages. Besides, Russia has welcomed this and said this step would be important to counter Western sanctions.

In the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States and its allies imposed major sanctions on Russia. It also included a ban on using the international system, SWIFT. Also, Russia had proposed using other major currencies, including the ruble, as an alternative in trading. Apart from this, Russia has reduced the share of the US dollar in its reserves to almost zero, and it has started using the yuan and currencies of other countries heavily in trading along with its national currency, the ruble. Major countries trading with Russia have accepted this proposal and even begun trying to implement it.

Moreover, Venezuela has adopted Russia’s Mir payment system, and its Mir cards are being used exclusively in Venezuela. Eventually, it has come to light that Venezuela is preparing to use local currencies to trade with Russia. A few months ago, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez demanded that the global oil market’s de-dollarisation should begin.

Furthermore, the Vice President of Venezuela said the international fuel market is trading worth more than $100 trillion, and the US economy is smaller in comparison. The VP has questioned considering trade through US dollars in such a situation. In the last few days, international economic experts, investors, entrepreneurs and analysts have constantly warned about de-dollarisation. The US think tank also drew attention to the issue that some of the world’s central banks are deliberating on whether their dependency on the US dollar it is appropriate.

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