Vladimir Putin Calls US Dollar Weaponization a ‘Grave Mistake’ That Dealt Blow to American Power

Russian President Vladimir Putin says America’s global dominance suffered a serious blow after US politicians decided to blatantly weaponize the dollar.

In a new interview with independent journalist Tucker Carlson, Putin says the dollar is the foundation of America’s global might.

That foundation was severely damaged, says Putin, when the US responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by freezing dollar-denominated assets owned by Russia’s central bank and certain wealthy Russian individuals.

Putin says the move left other nations concerned that their dollar reserves could also be frozen in the blink of an eye.

“To use the dollar as a tool of foreign policy struggle is one of the biggest strategist mistakes made by the US political leadership. The dollar is the cornerstone of the United States’ power. I think everyone understands very well that no matter how many dollars are printed they are quickly dispersed all over the world…

It is the weapon used by the United States to preserve its power across the world. As soon as the political leadership decided to use the US dollar as a tool of political struggle, a blow was dealt to this American power. I would not like to use any strong language but it is a stupid thing to do and a grave mistake.

Look at what’s going on in the world. Even the United States allies are now downsizing their dollar reserves. Seeing this, everyone starts looking for ways to protect themselves, but the fact that the United States applies restrictive measures to certain countries such as placing restrictions on transactions, freezing assets, etc., causes great concern and sends a signal to the whole world.”

In March of 2022, Russia’s Finance Minister said that the US and its allies had frozen $300 billion worth of the European giant’s gold and foreign exchange reserves as part of the sanctions over the military conflict in Ukraine. Banking giant UBS released a report last year saying that central banks around the world were hesitant to increase their US dollar reserves following the weaponization of the American currency.

Putin says he’s also looking at moves from China, noting the economic powerhouse has managed to convince oil-producing nations to accept the yuan in exchange for oil.

“Other countries including oil producers are thinking of and already accepting payments for oil in yuan. Do you even realize what is going on or not? Does anyone in the United States realize this? 

What are you doing? You are cutting yourself off. All experts say this.

Ask any intelligent and thinking person in the United States what the dollar means for the US. You’re killing it with your own hands.” 

In March of 2023, the oil and gas company China National Offshore Oil Corporation reportedly paid in yuan to import 65,000 tons of liquified natural gas from the UAE.

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