The friendship between Russia and Turkey is steadily gaining momentum. The next step in the development of the relations is Turkey's proposal to trade in national currencies. The Turkish president Recep Erdogan personally addressed Vladimir Putin with this initiative. “We will pay in rubles for everything we buy and you pay us in liras,” Erdogan suggested. It is interesting to note that the proposal wasn’t exclusive. China and Iran also received the same “chain letters”, but nevertheless, they responded to this idea with understanding and considered it reasonable. Another successful step in bringing Russian and Turkish nations together is a recent discussion on organization of trading in the RUB/TRL currency pair at the Moscow Stock Exchange and possible ways of cooperation in the area of national payment systems.
Moreover, in his speech Erdogan addressed the Turkish citizens with an even more interesting request. In attempt to support the national currency, the Turkish president urged people to exchange dollars that they have at home for lira. “Those who keep foreign currency under their mattress should come and turn it into lira or gold. Turkish lira and gold will rise in price,” Erdogan said. The Turkish lira has fallen more than 11 percent against the US dollar over the last month.
