Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak and his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov signed an agreement last week on using national currencies in payments and settlements between the two countries, the Russian finance ministry said Tuesday, according to a report by Daily Sabah newspaper.
The agreement, signed on Oct. 4, is aimed at gradually switching to using the ruble and the lira in mutual settlements, the ministry said.
Within the scope of the agreement, commercial institutions' demand for two currencies will be raised and a proper finance structure will be established.
The agreement envisages connecting Turkish banks and companies to the Russian version of SWIFT payment system, while enhancing the infrastructure in Turkey that would allow using the Russian MIR cards, designed by Moscow as alternative to MasterCard and VISA.
The agreement is a significant step for increasing fair trade and economic cooperation between two countries, according to the announcement.
Two countries' bilateral trade totaled $25.4 billion last year, with Russia dominated it by making nearly $22 billion export to Turkey.
More and more countries are willing to trade in their local currencies as the US administration has increased its use of the dollar as a sanctioning tool against other countries.
KI/PR