We aim to use national currencies with Turkey: Russia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW

Moscow is aiming towards using national currencies in trade with Turkey, instead of dollars or euros, said a Kremlin spokesman on Monday.

The question of using national currencies in bilateral trade has been discussed many times in talks between Russia and Turkey, Dmitry Peskov told journalists at a conference call in Moscow.

"The use of national currencies in mutual trade transactions is a topic that has been raised by the Russian side at various levels, including at the highest levels, for a long time,” he explained.

“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of such a possibility and, moreover, of such expediency. Of course, this is subject to scrupulous study, scrupulous calculations, but this is what we seek in our bilateral trade and economic relations, and what has been repeatedly discussed at bilateral Russian-Turkish talks."

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Ankara's plans in transactions with its biggest trade partners to switch over to using national currencies.