MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. The share of the ruble in Russia's international settlements has doubled compared to December 2021 and rose to one third, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday in his annual address to the Federal Assembly.
"I'd like to point out that the Russian ruble's share in our international settlements has doubled compared to December 2021, reaching one-third. This is already more than 50% when combined with the currencies of friendly countries. We will continue to work with partners to create a stable, secure system of international settlements that is independent of the dollar and other Western reserve currencies, which will ultimately lose their universal nature as a result of Western rulers' policy," he said.
According to the Bank of Russia, the dollar and the euro had a 79% share of Russia's external payments at the beginning of 2022, but by early December, it had dropped to around 50%.
Amid US and EU sanctions, the share of settlements in ‘toxic’ currencies declined from January to September 2022 - from 52% to 34% in dollars, and from 35% to 19% in euro. Refocusing trade flows toward Asia, as well as shifting currency of settlements under existing contracts with Chinese and other companies, contributed to an active increase in the share of settlements in Chinese yuan from 0.4% to 14%, and in rubles - from 12.3% to 32.4%.