On January 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists in Angola that BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, may soon explore the possibility of creating its own currency. What message does this plan send regarding the greenback's dominance?
While delivering a statement after his meeting with Angolan President Joao Lourenco, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that the West had shattered vital principles of the inviolability of property, the presumption of innocence, fair competition, and globalization.
Under these circumstances, BRICS, an informal group of developing nations, and the CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) have started to discuss the establishment of their own new currencies within the frameworks of these blocs, according to the Russian foreign minister.
Earlier this week, President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva touched upon the issue of the creation of a common currency for BRICS and the countries of Mercosur, a South American trade bloc, during his meeting with his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez.
Lula da Silva specified that the countries could establish a type of currency for trade that the Central Bank sets. He added that he would prefer international trading transactions to always be settled in national currencies to reduce dependence on the US dollar.
Last week, the two presidents wrote an op-ed signaling their willingness to advance the discussions on a common South African currency that "could be used for both financial and commercial flows, reducing the costs of operations and [the continent's] external vulnerability."
Mikhail Khazin, a Russian economist, researcher, and publicist, has addressed seeming contradictions in Lula da Silva's statement. The Russian economist is inclined to believe that while BRICS and CELAC members are talking about a single currency system, they are likely to create a single payment system at the first stage.
"It now makes sense to create a payment system that combines the currency systems of the Eurasian, Chinese, Indian and Latin American zones," Khazin told Sputnik. "It is necessary to create a payment system independent of the dollar."
He expects that four new currency zones will be formed, comprising the Latin American, Eurasian, Chinese, and Indian regions. Only after that, in about 10 years, would it be logical to create a single currency, as a "superstructure," for all of them, akin to the euro, according to Khazin.....More Below
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said that the treaty provides for various forms of bilateral cooperation.
The comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran has entered into force, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told Sputnik.
"It is already binding," Jalali said when asked about the date of entry into force of the agreement, as well as whether Iran had notified Russia of the completion of internal procedures.
He recalled that the treaty was ratified by both chambers of the Russian parliament, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed it. At the same time, the document was ratified by the Iranian parliament, approved by the Guardian Council, and the president issued it as a law.
"Therefore, in both countries it currently has the form of a law and, naturally, has entered into force," Jalali said.
On January 17, Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, met in Moscow to sign the Comprehensive Strategic ...
Defying the United States threats, ministers from more than 30 nations have packed Bogotá’s San Carlos Palace to charge the Israeli regime with genocide over its October 2023-present brutal military assault against the Gaza Strip.
The dramatic display of international solidarity saw dozens of high-ranking officials from across the globe convene inside the stately palace on Tuesday, determined to hold the regime accountable for, what they unequivocally called, a “war of genocide.”
The two-day emergency summit, organized under the auspices of The Hague Group -- a coalition co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa -- had representatives, ranging from such countries as Algeria and Brazil to Pakistan and Spain, in attendance.
The participants described the drive as a coordinated effort to stop the Israeli atrocities.
Behind closed doors, ministers and envoys, meanwhile, engaged in intensive sessions aimed at drafting collective measures to pressure the regime -- steps expected to be unveiled by ...
