On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow will continue expanding its trade relationships with countries it deems “friendly” as it looks to boost the use of national currencies, and reduce the share of trade in dollars. According  to the top Russian diplomat, it is not Russia which is seeking to reduce the role of the dollar in international trade, but rather Washington which is responsible for the dollar’s decline.

At the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO),, Lavrov told students in a speech, “We obviously are not developing our line against the US, against the West. It’s not that we want to ruin the dollar. The US no longer ensures the dollar’s global role that could satisfy everyone. That’s the problem.”

He pointed out that it was due to Western sanctions that Russia was forced to move away from utilizing dollars for global settlement, as it has shifted toward national currencies. Lavrov emphasized that presently none of the world’s so-called reserve currencies, the euro, the yen, or the dollar, can be relied upon for regular use as a means of international settlement.

He also said the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) made up of Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, has seen its trade turnover steadily growing, with the share of national, and other “friendly” currencies adding up to 76% in 2022. That number is forecast to rise to 90% in 2023.

Lavrov finished his speech by saying that Russia would cooperate with those countries which “are ready for it, on the basis of equal rights and the search for a fair balance of interests.” He noted that organizations like CSTO, CIS, EEU, BRICS and SCO in particular, work “on the basis of consensus.”