Russia plans to use other currencies other than the US dollars for its commercial transactions with African countries, RT France reported quoting Russian economic operators.  

"I think, it is possible to use other currencies in Africa", said Dimitri Mazepine, co-owner of Uralchem, the largest agriculture inputs manufacturer in Russia, and Uralkali, another Russian agriculture inputs group, to the new channel created by the Russian 24/7 television network RT. "We know that VTB [Ed.note: Russian Foreign trade Bank] is planning to extend its activity in the region. So, we could switch to settlements in the currencies that are more convenient to the lender”.

“Russian companies are ready to find an alternative to the US dollar in mutual agreements with the African continent", M. Mazepine, who is also chairman of the Russia-Zimbabwe business council indicated stressing the importance to "settle the way of payment, as most of the countries are very unstable from a financial point of view".

According to RT France, discontinuation of US dollar use in all commercial transactions with African countries, planned by Moscow, is aimed at "protecting the country’s economy against imminent US sanctions”.

Last August, the US imposed new economic sanctions against Russia which was accused by Washington and London to have poisoned former Russian double agent Sergueï Skripal on British soil last March. The US now threatens to ban investments in Russian bonds.

In retaliation to these sanctions, Russia has started reducing its investments in American bonds while increasing the volume of double-denominated transactions.

"We have reduced to the minimum and we will continue to reduce our investments in the American economy and American bonds and we will also make more payments not in the US dollar but in our local currency and others, including the euro", said Anton Silouanov, Russian minister of finance during a show on Rossiya 1 in August 2018.