Türkiye and Russia Agree to Trade in Rubles

On August 5, the presidents of Russia and Türkiye signed a memorandum on the development of their trade and discussed the use of Russian Mir cards.

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"Of course, this visit to Sochi had one good thing: we agreed on the ruble with [Vladimir] Putin. As we are going to make these exchanges in rubles, this will of course bring money to Russia and Türkiye as a separate source between Türkiyeand Russia in a financial point," Erdogan considered.

He added that both countries signed at the end of the negotiations in Sochi a memorandum on the development of trade relations.

"A memorandum of understanding, the so-called road map of our economic and trade relations was signed in Sochi by our Minister of Trade and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak," the Turkish president noted.

Erdogan assured that Moscow and Ankara aspire to reach a level of trade exchange equivalent to $100 billion.

The Turkish head of state added, among other things, that the use of Russian Mir cards in Türkiye is considerably advanced.

"Our doors are open to everyone. Whoever wants to invest in our country, we support them in every way we can. Because Türkiye has its doors open for a free market economy," he emphasized.

The Mir card system is currently used in Türkiye, Vietnam, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It is a Russian alternative to European and U.S. payment systems.

On March 5, the international payment systems Visa and Mastercard announced the decision to suspend their activities in Russia in the midst of the Russian special operation in Ukraine. 

According to the note, all transactions initiated with Visa cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside the country and Visa cards issued by financial institutions outside Russia will no longer work within Russian territory.

Erdogan also informed that within the framework of his negotiations with Vladimir Putin a meeting of the heads of the Central Banks of the two countries took place.

Among other issues he mentioned the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant which he plans to visit next week.