Lavrov says Russia won't be using 'unreliable' US dollar in future

A woman holds Russian Roubles in front of US dollar banknotes in this illustration taken on May 30, 2022. (Reuters photo)

Russia says it will not be using the "unreliable" US dollar in its cross-border trade since the United States does not ensure the global role the greenback plays.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday Moscow will continue to promote broader trade relations with "friendly" countries.

However, due to the unreliability of the US dollar, Moscow will also promote using local currencies, Lavrov said.

Boosting the use of local currencies will cut the greenback’s share in Russia's international trade, the minister said.

“We obviously are not developing our line against the US, against the West. It’s not that we want to ruin the dollar. The US no longer ensures the dollar’s global role that could satisfy everyone. That’s the problem,” Lavrov told students at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations (MGIMO).

Lavrov said other blocs and organizations such as the BRICS, CSTO, CIS, EEU, and SCO in particular, were working “on the basis of consensus.”

He said Russia will expand its relations of cooperation with the countries that “are ready for it, on the basis of equal rights and the search for a fair balance of interests.”

Earlier this week, Lavrov censured Western countries for being all talk and no action with respect to upholding a fair balance of interests with nations.

Western countries "use their tongue, while we use our brain, performing concrete deeds,” Lavrov said in an interview with Russian media on Sunday. He said the BRICS group of emerging economies had evolved into an alternative to the G7 and G20, and its leaders were dealing with real issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed the West over its unfair abuse of the US dollar. Putin has censured the Americans for weaponizing the greenback, using it as a tool in global affairs to mount economic pressure.