The globe’s top reserve currencies, the US dollar and euro, have become “toxic” for Russia, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Friday.
“The American and European currencies are toxic for us. What should we do with them?” he asked while speaking to students at a university in Moscow.
“What do we need them for? That is, we are selling our own wealth – gas, while getting candy wrappers, toxic candy wrappers. Who needs them?” Siluanov continued.
He referred to Russia’s current inability to rely on either the euro or dollar, which, according to the Russian government, were both compromised after the US and EU placed sanctions on Russia, effectively depriving the country of the ability to safely conduct transactions in these currencies.