UNITED NATIONS, April 19. /TASS/. The US dollar is becoming toxic in regular transactions, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Pankin told reporters on Wednesday.

He emphasized that in 2022, several countries have drastically reduced their dollar reserves while increasing their gold reserves. "It's not a trend for friends of Russia. Some of the states, we don't call them hostile, but they have implemented certain steps which are considered hostile,"Pankin added.

"These trends show that the US dollar is becoming big, strong, but still toxic for everyday operations. It's not a mainstream trend, but I believe it might become a trend," he noted.

Pankin emphasized that Russia supports limiting the importance of the US currency in settlements, because otherwise, the dominance of the dollar will contribute to increased volatility.