20 Jun 2022 14:53

Belarus, Russia should abandon system of calculating trade turnover in dollars - Parliamentary Assembly

MINSK. June 20 (Interfax) - Belarus and Russia need to count their trade turnover not in dollars, but to set up their own settlement system to pay for trade supplies, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Union Andrei Savinykh said.

"Alas, we still calculate the trade turnover in dollars, though it is high time for us to give up using foreign currencies and build our own settlement system to pay for trade supplies and to create a fully sovereign financial system," Savinykh said at a Parliamentary Assembly session on Monday.

"This is where serious resources and reserves for sustainable sectoral development and sources of long-term investment can be found," he said.

However, the mutual trade between Russia and Belarus reached a record $38.5 billion last year and is showing a steady upward trend, Savinykh said.

The 62nd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Union is underway in Minsk on Monday. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin is chairing the session.