Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday that he discussed the use of the Russian Mir payment system in Thailand at a meeting with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.
"Today, with my colleague, the Thai foreign minister, we discussed the steps needed to ensure that the Russian Mir Payment System cards can be used here without any problems. This will give an additional impetus to increase the flow of tourists," Lavrov said at an opening ceremony of the Russian general consulate on Phuket.
After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Western countries rolled out a massive sanctions campaign against Moscow. The sanctions included disconnection of multiple Russian banks from the international payment system, SWIFT, in order to weaken the country's economy, which forced Moscow to seek alternative methods of financial transfers.
The de-SWIFTing and the 2022 exit of Visa and MasterCard from the Russian market resulted in increased use of the Russian Mir payment system in the country and beyond, especially by Russian tourists. In September 2022, the US Treasury Department threatened foreign banks with secondary sanctions for servicing Mir cards, which resulted in many countries' refusing to accept them. Nevertheless, Mir cards are now accepted by partner banks in Abkhazia, Armenia, Belarus, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Korea and South Ossetia.
Russia to Expand Diplomatic Presence in Southeast Asia
The opening of the Russian general consulate in Thailand is an important but not final step in Russia's plan to expand its diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"Today's opening ceremony of the Russian Permanent Consulate in Phuket is a very important step, but I can assure you that it will not be the last step in expanding Russia's diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia," Lavrov said at the opening of the consulate.
Russia is planning to open additional diplomatic missions in other friendly countries of the region, he added.