Italian companies want to switch to rubles in Russian trade

New payment mechanism could come into force within months, lobby representative said

The president of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce said Russian buyers should be able to pay for Italian goods in rubles and that Russia’s Italian business lobby was working on a mechanism to make this happen.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Ferdinand Perazzo said financial restrictions on Russia, such as the decoupling of banks from international financial messaging system SWIFT, have made it difficult to trade in non-sanctioned goods such as wine and clothing.

“We want to create a system that allows Russian buyers to pay in rubles to accounts in third countries, so that the money can be transferred to Italy. , payments are not subject to sanctions, but only to specific goods.” He said.

The system could be up and running within months, he added.

Since last year, many exports have come under Western control. However, 49% of commodities are exempt, and if trade in these commodities is compromised, ‘Italy will lose a lot’ Perazzo warned.

read more: Italian business lobby welcomes wine sales in Russia

He noted that Russia is increasing its ties with Brazil, India, China and South Africa, all of which are members of the BRICS group. BRICS countries are working to switch to paying in their own currency instead of US dollars or euros. At a summit scheduled for August, the bloc will discuss a single currency, Perazzo explained. “Most interesting financial, commercial and geopolitical shifts.”

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