Putin says 'role of dollar' should be revisited in global trade

[ST PETERSBURG] Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday renewed calls to revisit the role of the US dollar in global trade and accused Washington of seeking to dominate the world.

Speaking at an economic forum alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Russian president called for deep reform, claiming that trust in the dollar had been on the decline.

Changes in the global economy "call for the adaptation of international financial organisations (and) rethinking the role of the dollar which... has turned into an instrument of pressure by the country of issue on the rest of the world," Mr Putin said.

The Kremlin chief - whose country has chafed under numerous rounds of US sanctions - has repeatedly slammed the global financial system established by Washington in the aftermath of World War II.

In a speech at a plenary session, Mr Putin accused Washington of seeking to "extend its jurisdiction to the whole world."

"But this model not only contradicts the logic of normal international communication. The main thing is, it does not serve the interests of the future."

AFP