20 Jan, 12:18

Russia, Indonesia discussing mutual settlements in national currencies — envoy

Moscow is not setting any deadlines for reaching an agreement in settlements in national currencies, Sergey Tolchenov said

TOKYO, January 20. /TASS/. Russia and Indonesia are discussing the possibility of using national currencies in mutual settlements, Russia’s Ambassador to Indonesia Sergey Tolchenov said in an interview with Jakarta Globe.

"Russia’s disconnection from SWIFT seriously complicated financial payments in US dollars. This is why we need to find appropriate ways of using national currencies. Russian and Indonesian financial institutions are working on that," he said.

Moscow is not setting any deadlines for reaching an agreement in settlements in national currencies, the diplomat added. "What is most important is to find appropriate win-win solutions," he stressed. Apart from central banks and finance ministries, business representatives should participate in the discussion as "enterprises would like to have independent and sustainable channels for financial payments," Tolchenov noted.

BRICS is currently focused on promotion of the use of national currencies, not on the creation of an absolutely new currency unit, he added. "Hopefully the fact that Indonesia is now a BRICS member will help us solve issues in effecting payments," the diplomat said.

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