ST. PETERSBURG, June 17. /TASS/. Russia sees future in payments in rubles and national currencies, while the dollar is a "toxic" currency, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov said in an interview with NTV channel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"I believe that Russia’s focus on rubles and national currencies is our future. Dollars are toxic," he said. The minister explained that the "toxicity" of the dollar and other Western currencies is due to the difficulties that arise when using them.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum organized by the Roscongress Foundation is running from June 15 to 18. This year’s forum is dubbed: ‘New Opportunities in a New World’. The SME Forum, the Creative Business Forum, the Drug Security Forum, the SPIEF Junior Dialogue and SPIEF Sport Week are also going to be part of the SPIEF event. TASS serves as the event’s official photo hosting agency and the information partner.