Putin: the ruble has become one of the strongest currencies in the world since the beginning of the year

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects on December 15 said that the Russian ruble has become one of the strongest world currencies since the beginning of 2022. This is due to several factors, including the transfer of gas payments for rubles.

“The price level in Russia, after a serious surge in March-April, has practically not changed since May, and the Russian ruble has become one of the strongest currencies in the world since the beginning of the year”Putin said.

Earlier, the President of the Russian Federation said that the stability of the ruble has a beneficial effect on the economies of Russian partners, in particular members of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, whose summit was held in the first decade of December.

In November, the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, explained the benefits of a stronger ruble. In particular, this will allow to restore the volume of Russian imports, despite the logistical and price costs.

On March 23, Vladimir Putin announced the transfer of payments for natural gas by the EU states and other countries that have imposed anti-Russian sanctions into rubles in order to stop using dollars and euros in calculations.

On March 31, Putin signed a corresponding decree and said that Russia would consider unfriendly states as non-fulfillment of obligations under gas contracts if they did not pay in rubles from April 1. This happened with Poland, Bulgaria and Finland.