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West distorted dollar by 'pocketing' Russia's reserves — Putin

The Russian president expressed confidence that settlements in national currencies will gradually become more prevalent in the world

MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. The West has distorted the institution of international financial reserves by "pocketing" Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Thursday.

"Using the dollar as a weapon, the United States, and the West as a whole, distorted the institution of international financial reserves. First, they depreciated them due to inflation in the dollar and euro zone, and then completely "pocketed" our gold and foreign exchange reserves," Putin said.

He expressed confidence that settlements in national currencies will gradually become more prevalent in the world.

"The transition to settlements in national currencies will increasingly gain momentum. It is inevitable. This, of course, depends on the status of the issuers of these currencies, the state of their economies, but it will increase. Such settlements, of course, will gradually become the norm. Such is the logic of sovereign economic and financial policy of a multipolar world," the President said.

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan