Russians won''t face restricted use of US dollar: finance minister

10/9/2018 - 2:52:56 PM

Russia's de-dollarization plan for its economy does not mean restricted use for Russians of the US dollar, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Russia's Rossiya-1 TV channel on October 7.

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Siluanov rejected the speculation that Russia is planning to abandon the US dollar and therefore Russians have to withdraw the foreign currency from their bank accounts as soon as possible.

"We did not have any such ideas. On the contrary, we are liberalizing both our foreign trade and activities inside the country," Siluanov said in an interview with the TV program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin."

The Russian government does not plan to convert Russians' private dollar deposits into rubles, Siluanov said.

"We oppose various restrictions ... As for savings in dollars, this is the choice of each citizen," he said.

On October 4, Siluanov said a de-dollarization plan for Russia's economy has been prepared and submitted to the government.

According to the plan, there will be preferential treatment to encourage exporters to gradually convert from using the US dollar to the Russian ruble in settlements by 2024.

Source: NDO

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