Iran president urges end to dollar supremacy

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) meets with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev (L) in the Iranian capital Tehran on August 16.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194266.html

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for an end to the dollar dominance, as the US economic crisis would lead to further devaluation of the currency.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting with Russian Security Council secretary, Nikolai Patrushev, in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday, IRNA reported.

“Considering that the US Treasury prints dollar and this is how the US budget deficit is reduced by using resources in countries like Iran and Russia, Tehran and Moscow could have useful cooperation to end reliance on dollar,” the Iranian president said.

Patrushev, for his part, hailed the suggestion by the Iranian president, stating that there is a huge capacity to increase the level of cooperation between the two countries, using their local currencies.

Ahmadinejad also welcomed Russia's proposal to solve the dispute over Iran's nuclear energy program based on a staged approach.

On July 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proposed a new "step-by-step" approach toward Iran's nuclear program that would enable the Islamic Republic to take steps to address questions raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Under the proposed plan, Iran would revive negotiations to alleviate individual concerns of the IAEA about its nuclear activities and be rewarded along the way by the partial removal of sanctions.

Ahmadinejad also said that practical measures, including the launching of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, could be a “positive step” toward deepening relations.

Patrushev arrived in Tehran on Monday for a two-day visit upon an invitation from Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili.