Novak announced the transfer of half of foreign trade settlements into rubles and national currencies

Russia has converted more than half of its foreign trade payments into rubles and national currencies of other countries, while in cooperation with some states this figure already exceeds 90%. This was announced on June 4 by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak at the opening ceremony of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026).

"I can say that in Russia today, more than 50% of all payments are made either from the ruble or from the currencies of friendly countries. And with many countries, with our main partners, it is even higher than 90%," TASS quoted him as saying.

Novak noted that the old system, which was dominated by the currency of the "seven countries" (an informal association of countries called the G7, which includes Britain, the United States, Japan, Canada, France, Germany and Italy), began to change dramatically.

According to him, such a transformation is becoming a trend these days: the whole world has begun to actively introduce alternative payment systems and diversify them. For example, Russia, as the Deputy Prime Minister added, began using blockchain systems and independent financial infrastructure mechanisms in cooperation with other countries.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on May 29 that the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) had almost completely converted payments into national currencies. Such a step, he explained, would help protect trading operations from potential outside interaction.

The day before, the Financial Times (FT) newspaper reported that the Russian ruble had strengthened to its highest level in more than three years. This situation has reduced the competitiveness of exports and caused additional burden for exporters.