Russia is proposing to switch to payments in national currencies, but Argentina is still mulling it over, Russian Ambassador to Argentina Dmitry Feoktistov told Sputnik.
'We are proposing to actively join efforts not only to them [the Argentinians], but to our other partners as well, to switch to payments in national currencies, including peso-rouble. The Argentinians are still thinking. The Argentinians are still thinking', the diplomat said.
According to Russian Ambassador to Argentina Dmitry Feoktistov, the euro may become an alternative to the dollar in transactions between Russia and Argentina.
Feoktistov explained that Argentina traditionally had all its contracts in dollars, so it was not sure about roubles.
'But we are converting in many countries, and they will have no problems later, when converting roubles back to dollars', the ambassador said.
Feoktistov said it was regrettable that there were no correspondent accounts between Russian and Argentinian banks.
'We would like to see a Russian bank with its office here in Argentina', the diplomat said.
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The statements come amid a harsh economic crisis that Argentina is facing with the exchange rate of the national currency, the peso, having fallen about 45 percent since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, Russia is trying to move away from using dollar transactions, creating a plan for the Russian economy's de-dollarisation.
