Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Birichevsky called the restriction of the US ruble conversion a fantasy
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Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Birichevsky in an interview with RIA Novosti spoke about the role of the dollar as an international currency. He also gave predictions about the future of the ruble.
Ruble prospects
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry appreciated the possibility of the ruble becoming “wooden” because of the United States. He called this situation a fantasy and emphasized that the restriction by the United States of converting the national currency could become “an extremely exotic measure.”
It is unlikely that something like this took place in history, and it is difficult to imagine how this can be realized
Dmitry BirichevskyRussian MFA Representative
The diplomat admitted that it is possible to try to prohibit certain financial market players from transactions in the American jurisdiction or with American companies. Such measures are often observed, he stressed. However, the idea of limiting the convertibility of the ruble as the Russian national currency is a fantasy.
The head of the department of trading operations on the Russian stock market “Freedom Finance” Georgy Vashchenko suggested that after the New Year, the ruble could strengthen until June 2020 – below 70 per dollar.
RUB 71.50-74.50 per dollar forecasted ruble exchange rate at the beginning of 2022
According to the expert, the Russian currency may strengthen against the background of oil prices and the weakening of the euro against the dollar.
The role of the dollar
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry assessed the role of the dollar in the economy: according to him, the focus is gradually shifting to capital markets, alternative to the American one. He spoke about Russia's work to reduce the share of the dollar in domestic international and foreign settlements. The diplomat said that Moscow is working on this issue as usual.
Although we all perfectly understand that the US still has great leverage, so we are ready for any surprises.
Dmitry BirichevskyRussian MFA Representative
Birichevsky stressed that Russia with some countries “is already actually switching over to mutual settlements in national currencies.” In his opinion, reliable and secure channels for the transmission of financial information should be provided.
Disconnect from SWIFT
The representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry also assessed the possibility of disconnecting the country from the international interbank SWIFT system. In his opinion, there are no real prospects for this. He emphasized that SWIFT is an international private company headquartered in Belgium. Therefore, he expressed a lack of understanding of how “the Americans are going to implement their threats.”
Although we all perfectly understand that the US still has great leverage, so we are ready for any surprises.
Dmitry BirichevskyRussian MFA Representative
Moscow has repeatedly mentioned that there is no real prospect of disconnecting Russia from the international system.
“This rhetoric periodically dies down, then reappears with renewed vigor,” Birichevsky emphasized.
On December 16, members of the European Parliament warned that in the event of Russian aggression against Ukraine, an extended package of sanctions should be introduced. It includes disconnecting the country from the SWIFT payment system. However, later that day, Bloomberg said that the West considered the implementation of this measure problematic for the alleged potential escalation of the situation on the border with Ukraine.
The Kremlin's position
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that US President Joe Biden, in a dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on December 7, threatened Russia with financial isolation if it invaded Ukraine. He also called reports of US sanctions against the country “information hysteria”. Putin stressed that the statements about the preparation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine are alarmist.
Russia and a possible invasion of Ukraine
On November 12, the United States warned the European Union about the risk of a Russian “invasion” of Ukraine. US officials have expressed concern that Moscow is considering a “military operation.” Bloomberg sources said this opinion is based on “publicly available evidence.”
