Russia Supported Use of National Currencies in Trade with Turkey

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the U.S. is abusing the role of the dollar as a world reserve currency. Russia supports use of national currencies, not the U.S. dollar, in its trade with Turkey, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov arrived in Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu a few days after the Turkish lira fell to a record low against the U.S. dollar, and the Russian ruble lost almost 10 percent of its value within a few days of August. “The use of national currencies for mutual trade has for several years been one of the tasks that the presidents of Russia and Turkey had set in our relations with Iran”, Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Cavusoglu in Ankara. “Similar processes have been happening in our relations with Iran. Not only with Turkey and Iran, we’re also arranging and already implementing payments in national currencies with the People’s Republic of China”. “I am confident that the excessive use of the U.S. dollar as a global reserve currency will result over time in the weakening and demise of its role,” Lavrov said, echoing statements earliermade by President Vladimir Putin. However, Lavrov did not announce any immediate commitment to drop the dollar in trade with Turkey or provide it with financial aid, leaving observers guessing if the two countries, both hit by U.S. sanctions, have agreed on any bilateral deal. “They will likely just give warm words to Turkey, looking to exploit the situation and stir things up for the U.S. and the West,” said Timothy Ash, senior strategist at Blue Bay Asset Management. “I don’t think the Russians will bankroll Turkey at this stage, as I think they have their own issues with the United States with sanctions and will want to maintain their own FX buffers,” he said. Turkey has a track record of using national currencies in international trade. Last October, the Turkish and Iranian central banks formally agreed to trade in local currencies after using the euro for settlements in the past. Using national currency in mutual trade has its drawbacks, however. If the currency of one of the parties to a trade is in meltdown that exposes the other party to heightened risks that would not usually exist if the deal was settled in dollars. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said in recent public speeches that Turkey and its economic allies do not need to use the dollar to conduct bilateral trade. On Monday Erdogan, angered by what he sees as Washington’s attempts to unilaterally impose its rules on global finance, said Turkey had “made advancements in our ties with Russia in accordance to our benefits and interests”. The Kremlin said the same day that Russia favored bilateral trade with all countries in their national currencies, rather than the dollar, but that the idea needed detailed work before being implemented. “Options for liberalization of mutual trade look possible. Russia is quite a capacious market for Turkish goods,” said Yaroslav Lissovolik, Program Director with Russia’s Valdai Discussion Club. “Such trade liberalization would require time but it could support Turkey’s exports. We’ve already seen settlements in national currencies between Russia and the BRICS”, he said, referring to the bloc that also includes Brazil, India, China and South Africa. Source: Voice of America