Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to create a new reserve currency based on the currencies of the countries that are members of the BRICS state union. This is stated in the greeting message of the Russian leader, posted on the official website of the Kremlin.

“The issue of creating an international reserve currency based on a basket of currencies of our countries is being worked out,” the report says.

Putin also said that the BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are working on reliable alternatives to the most popular mechanisms for international payments. The President noted that the Russian financial messaging system is “open for connection of banks” of the BRICS countries, and the geography of the Mir payment system is “actively expanding”. The head of state also expressed hope for the development of cooperation between Russian business and the BRICS countries, he hopes that the reorientation to these countries will be quick and successful.

The Kremlin message does not directly refer to the SWIFT financial messaging system, from which Russia's largest banks were turned off, but it mentions the Financial Messaging System (SPFS), which was supposed to replace Russia's SWIFT. The President also insists on the creation of a new reserve currency based on the BRICS currencies, which somewhat contradicts the very meaning of the concept of "reserve currency" , which is distinguished by its stability and low volatility.

Among the BRICS countries, the yuan is considered the least volatile currency, which only recently entered the basket of reserve currencies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while other currencies, especially the Russian ruble , cannot be considered as such. As for global reserves, at the end of 2021, almost 60% of the reserves of world central banks were denominated in US dollars, the top 5 also includes the euro, Japanese yen, British pound and yuan. The “shrinking of the dollar”, which Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about, is not happening .

The creation of a reserve currency in relation to the basket of currencies of the BRICS countries is reminiscent of the principle of the formation of the IMF's reserve currency - SDR or special drawing rights, which are the unit of account within the IMF and a number of other international organizations. Each member of the IMF, including Russia, has its own currency position, expressed in SDRs. However, due to the war in Ukraine, Russia's reserve position was frozen indefinitely.