Russia said on Saturday that it is preparing to switch to national currencies in mutual trade with Iran.
Russian
Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said the currency switch
policy comes as trade between the two countries is expected to see a
significant surge.
"Among other things, we do not rule out the
possibility of settlements in rubles and rials, pres
that our trade
volumes will be growing," Manturov has been quoted as saying in an
interview with the local TV channel Rossiya 1.
"Respectively, Iranian banks will acquire rubles that they will be able to use to pay for our products," he said.
Manturov
had held negotiations on using the national currencies in bilateral
trade during his visit to Tehran earlier this week, Interfax reported.
Last
Tuesday, Valiollah Seif, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran
(CBI), was quoted by the media as saying that Tehran has completed the
preparations for establishing a joint bank account with Russia to
facilitate trade between the two countries in their own currencies.
Seif
had reportedly told a visiting Russian delegation that both Tehran and
Moscow need to create a mechanism to connect their banking sectors,
stressing that this is necessary for bolstering trade ties between the
two countries.
The idea to set up a joint bank account between
Iran and Russia to handle trade in rials and rubles was first revealed
by Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei earlier this year.
Later,
Assadollah Asgaroladi, a veteran Iranian merchant and the chairman of
Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce, said the bank could break the
domination of Western currencies over bilateral exchanges and that it
would eventually open a new chapter in trade relations between Tehran
and Moscow.
In March, Iran and Russia signed a basic agreement to
create a joint regulation body to oversee interbank financial
transactions between the two countries.
The agreement - that was
signed between the Iranian and Russian central banks – took both
countries one step closer toward the establishment of the promised joint
bank - which is believed to have been specifically designed to help
dodge the effects of US-led sanctions on the two countries.