MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The United States does damage to itself by limiting the use of the dollar for situational reasons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the Rossiya-24 news channel on Saturday.

"They saw off the branch they’re sitting on - I’ve been reiterating that - by limiting the use of the dollar based on momentary, situational considerations of political nature. They are harming themselves, and we might even add, they shoot themselves in the foot," Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin.

According to Putin, the United States’ claims that Russia is encroaching on the dollar are not true.

"We would use the dollar, but they do not let us," he explained. "How can we make payments? In a currency that is acceptable to our partners. The yuan is one of these currencies, especially since it is used by the International Monetary Fund."

The Russian president emphasized that after the Russian gold and foreign currency reserves were frozen, all the countries in the world have wondered how reliable their US partners are.

"And they have come to the conclusion that they are not reliable," he noted.

Putin underlined that Russia’s partners were happy to agree on payments in the yuan.

"Do you know that the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries have announced they want to use the yuan for settlements? We will be gradually expanding this and will be expanding [the use] of the reliable currencies," he said.

Putin stated that now the dollar has certain advantages, compared to limitations on other currencies.

"However, each country is determined to strengthen its national currency, and all the countries will strive to do so. Therefore, no doubt, it is a big mistake on the part of the US authorities that they restrict settlements in dollars around the world for the countries they do not like for some reason," the Russian president concluded.