The Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the BRICS summit in Johannesburg and announced plans of Turkey and Russia to adopt electronic money. However, he did not clarify the way by which this idea will be implemented.
When the Turkish lira is experiencing one of the worst periods in its history, so it is clear that this initiative assumes greater urgency.
The central banks of Russia and Turkey started to develop the mechanism for switching to payments in national currencies two years ago. The topic has been highlighted at the highest level more than once, but it still remains stalled.
Nevertheless, tourists from the Russian Federation can buy goods or services in Turkey for rubles. And besides, the Turks willingly take any currency as payment. The tourism industry is of great importance for the economy and represents the source of financial revenues to the country, so this state of affairs is highly appreciated.
Turkey is currently in open conflict with the United States. The relations between Washington and Moscow are also far from perfect. In the first half of the year, Russia’s central bank got rid of almost all investments in the US national debt, while Turkey also significantly reduced the share of treasuries in its reserves. The two countries have a common goal to get away from the dollar.
Other countries also express such a desire, moreover, their number is gradually increasing. It is likely that no one will give an exact answer about the timing of a possible de-dollarization of the world economy. The question remains open.
