MOSCOW, July 18. /TASS/. Russians will be able to make payments abroad with digital rubles in two years at the earliest, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market Anatoly Aksakov told TASS.

"I think it will take a couple of years. First, we need to establish mutual settlements in the country. <...> The experiment will now be expanded. I think that 2025 should be used to prepare or implement [the digital ruble] within the country. I think that in 2026 it will be possible to spread this practice throughout the country, but gradually, in order to neutralize all the risks associated with the introduction of a new feature to our lives," Aksakov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier at a meeting on economic issues that it is important for Russia to "seize the moment" and to develop conditions for digital assets. "It is important for Russia to ‘seize the moment’, as they say, to create the legal framework and regulation in a timely manner, to develop infrastructure, to create conditions for the circulation of digital assets, both within the country and in relations with foreign partners," he said.

Putin believes it is necessary to use the digital ruble more widely in the country's economy. "Now we need to take the next step, namely to move to a broader, full-scale implementation of the digital ruble in the economy, in economic activity and in the field of finance," he said.

Putin also added that more than 30,000 transactions using the digital ruble have been completed. "Since July 1, more than 27,000 transfers and more than 7,000 payments for goods and services have been made within this system," he said.