World needs new multi-currency system of reserve currencies with all financial players - Medvedev

MOSCOW, April 22 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes that the world needs a new multi-currency system of reserve currencies with all financial players involved and abolition of the Bretton Woods system [the Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules of commercial and financial relations among the world’s major industrial countries in the mid-20th century]. The rouble should be turned in a reserve currency, the prime minister said in reply to questions of lawmakers of the State Duma lower house of parliament on Tuesday. The prime minister believes that the modern financial world is formed in a way of no optimal decisions in which currencies gold and foreign currency reserves should be kept. “But we want to invest these funds in something else, but the question arises in what? Even our friends in China which have much larger gold and foreign currency reserves than we have, but ours are also quite big, they keep their monetary funds in securities which are nominated in U.S. dollars and euro all the same,” Medvedev noted. “Meanwhile, we bear all consequences of development of American economy and European economies,” he noted. The prime minister believes that in the future it is needed “to create a better balanced currency system,” Medvedev said, adding that “I refer to a system based on a multi-currency system of reserve currencies when stores of value are not only U.S. dollar and euro, but also other currencies.” For this purpose “all countries which are main economic players should reach an agreement,” he said. “If we succeed to form this financial system and this is actually abolition of the Bretton Woods Agreements which were reached after the Second World War we will receive a fairer financial system and an opportunity to invest our gold and foreign currency reserves in other currencies,” the prime minister noted. He also said with confidence that Russia “should seek for the rouble to become a reserve currency.” “For this it is needed to shift trade in roubles, including trade with primary commodities,” Medvedev added. Learn more on itar-tass.com