Putin Questions Foreign Currency Reserves

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday questioned the need to hold state reserves in foreign currencies, claiming they could easily be confiscated for political reasons. He stated that investing these reserves domestically is more attractive.

Western countries froze approximately $300 billion of Russian reserves, which were accumulated from energy revenue, at the start of the Ukraine war in 2022. Ongoing discussions among G7 countries are exploring how these funds might be used to support Ukraine.

"A legitimate question: why accumulate reserves if they can be lost so easily?" Putin remarked during an investment conference. He suggested that investing state savings in infrastructure, logistics, science, and education is more reliable than maintaining them in foreign assets.

Putin also indicated that the current U.S. administration is undermining the role of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency by using it for political ends. This situation has compelled many countries to seek alternative assets like cryptocurrencies.

"For example, bitcoin, who can prohibit it? No one," Putin noted. He concluded that the development of new payment technologies is inevitable due to their lower costs and greater reliability.