Flags of BRICS member countries. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The volume of Russia’s transactions in national currencies with fellow BRICS nations is growing steadily, the envoy said Saturday in Beijing at the 12th World Peace Forum (WPF).

Morgulov said they are leaving the dollar-dominated space and developing a mechanism and tools for a truly independent financial system. He also said that introducing a new single currency is still some way off but stressed that the group – which recently expanded and now comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran and Egypt – is “moving in this direction.”

Last month, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Ivan Chebeskov told the media that Russia was working on creating a settlement-and-payment infrastructure together with BRICS member states’ central banks. Chebeskov said the bloc is working on launching the BRICS Bridge platform for settlements in national currencies.