MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. Practical de-dollarization has kicked off around the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the 31st Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy on Saturday.

"De-dollarization has begun, both in practice and in conceptual speeches," he said. "Within BRICS, Brazil suggested that the upcoming summit in August should give careful consideration to the tasks of protecting financial transactions within this assembly, of protecting the New Development Bank from abuse of the dollar’s persistent role. And we are putting forward many other initiatives concerning this issue," the foreign minister said, adding that Russia has many allies and like-minded friends.

According to Lavrov, Russia sees how fiercely the West is sending its emissaries to other countries, demanding that they unhesitatingly sever most, if not all, of their trade, economic and investment ties with Russia.

"They are releasing lists enumerating the goods that should be banned for export to Russia. I’m not exaggerating now. There was a trio recently - an American, a Briton and a representative of the European Union - who had been touring Central Asian countries. However, let me repeat, they [Western countries] know well how to play on the difficulties they themselves create for other countries. And they will probably have a certain result, a certain benefit in the short term, but in the long term, they, and first and foremost the Americans, are hewing down the bough on which they are sitting, <…> including the roles of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the role of the dollar in the world’s economy," Lavrov concluded.

Earlier, Vaola Sambo (Ph.D.) of the University of South Africa, an expert in economics and management, told TASS that the work to create a reserve currency for trade purposes is considered by the BRICS countries as de-dollarization, as it can bring about lower dependence on US currency.