CIS countries almost fully switch to payments in national currencies - CIS sec gen

MINSK. Dec 26 (Interfax) - The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries have nearly brought the share of settlements in national currencies to 100%, CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev said on Friday.

"The latest reports show that the share of national currencies in mutual settlements in the CIS is steadily growing. It reached 96% for the CIS and is nearing 93% for the EAEU in 2024-2025," the CIS Executive Council quoted Lebedev as saying.

"This manifests a stable trend towards de-dollarization and the use of national currencies in trade," he said.

"Using global currencies in international settlements today involves higher risks [such as] blocking assets and transactions," he said.

Lebedev also mentioned active economic integration within the CIS as a factor positively affecting mutual trade. "Mutual trade rose 18% in past four years, and aggregate GDP of the CIS countries grew 4.5% in 2024," he said.

The establishment of a free trade zone, a treaty on which was signed nearly 15 years ago, has played an important role in developing trade and economic ties between the CIS countries, he said.

The free trade zone has enabled its participants to cancel customs tariffs on an overwhelming majority of goods and remove other barriers and obstacles in mutual trade within the CIS, he said.