Putin: Dollar Removed from CIS Member States’ Trade

DID Press: Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that trade transactions among the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are now conducted almost entirely in national currencies, with Western currencies no longer playing a role in these exchanges.

The CIS currently has nine full members: Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova, and Uzbekistan. Ukraine and Turkmenistan hold “participant” status, although Kyiv has increasingly distanced itself from the organization in recent years.

Speaking at an informal CIS summit in Saint Petersburg, Putin highlighted the substantial volume of trade among the member states and said economic cooperation within the bloc is moving in the right direction. He added that Russia’s trade with CIS countries reached approximately $90 billion during the first nine months of the year.