Putin instructs interagency group led by Oreshkin be formed for FX regulation and international settlements

MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed that an interagency working group be formed in order to draw up new mechanisms in the field of FX regulation and international settlements.

The relevant instructions, signed by the president on May 9, have been published on the official legal information website.

According to the instructions, the interagency group is to be headed by presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin and will include Central Bank of Russia (CBR) Governor Elvira Nabiullina (by agreement), Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, as well as the heads of the Federal Tax Service, Federal Customs Service, Rosfinmonitoring, deputy ministers of Agriculture, Industry and Trade, Foreign Affairs, Energy, and representatives from several other agencies.

According to the approved statute, the interagency working group will be "a coordinating body established to ensure effective cooperation between federal authorities, the Central Bank of Russia, authorities of Russian constituent subjects, other state bodies and organizations in the implementation of state policy on currency regulation and international settlements."

One of the group's tasks will be "to develop a plan for the formation of the infrastructure of international settlements with trading partners from friendly foreign countries and friendly territories, including in Russian rubles or national currencies of such states and territories, and control over the implementation of this plan."

At the same time, the group will develop a second plan for the formation of of international settlements infrastructure, including in Russian rubles, with trading partners from countries that commit unfriendly acts against Russia.

The working group will have to draw up procedures for each of these two plans for settling payments with trading partners, including dealing with trade financing transactions.

Another task for the group will be "to develop measures of currency regulation in order to ensure the balance of supply and demand for transactions in the foreign exchange market."

Furthermore, the working group will draw up state policy measures aimed at "reduction of risks, connected with the suspension of operations with Russian foreign assets, to provide conformity of the balance of payments structure to the aims of stable economic development".