“It seems to me that the United States is making a very big mistake by using the dollar as a sanctions instrument.
And they do this because they prevent payments in dollars for the sanctioned products.
It is simply impossible for us to receive money from customers for the delivered products in dollars.
What does this lead to?
We are simply forced, we have no other choice, we are simply forced to switch to settlements in other currencies, "the Russian president said in an interview with CNBC, quoted by the Kremlin press service.
At the same time, other countries that use the dollar as a reserve currency and a settlement instrument “see what is happening,” Putin added.
“They themselves have anxiety that the dollar can be used in their relation in the same way.
And they, too, are beginning to reduce their dollar holdings and use less as a unit of account, ”he said.
The result is that even the closest partners and allies of the United States in their reserves are reducing the share of the dollar, the head of state emphasized, calling it a "statistical fact."
He recalled that Russia is reducing dollars in reserves, and is also trying to switch to settlements in national currencies, although this is not always possible.
"In this regard, we can say that the United States is sawing the branch on which they sit, because this is the absolute competitive advantage of the dollar as a universal reserve world currency, they undermine it in this way, in the interests of the momentary political situation, damage their strategic economic interests," stated Putin.
During the interview, he also expressed the opinion that the dollar is undermining its position as the world's reserve currency, and the volume of settlements in dollars is declining.