Putin orders to stop transactions in US dollars at Russian seaports

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian ruble to be the main currency for transactions at all Russian seaports, instead of the current US dollar (USD).

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photo: Reuters

Information on the Kremlin's official website said President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to approve a bill that would make the ruble the main currency for transactions at all Russian seaports next year.

To protect the interests of transport companies from regulations on the use of foreign currencies, President Putin has ordered the establishment of a transition period before fully switching transactions to the Russian ruble.

Russia's commercial seaport of Novorossiysk. Photo: Sputnik

According to the head of the Russian Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Igor Artemyev, many transactions at Russian seaports are still being conducted in US dollars even though these seaports are under the management of the Russian state.

According to Mr. Artemyev, the above conversion decision will force foreigners to use rubles more, which will benefit the Russian currency unit.

President Putin's currency conversion proposal was made a year and a half ago. However, this proposal does not apply to large Russian transport companies in order to maintain foreign cash sources in the context of the ruble's value possibly fluctuating./.

According to Dan Tri