President Bashar Assad of Syria said the BRICS countries can lead efforts to ditch the US dollar in international settlements. The leader of the war-torn Middle Eastern country called for the use of the Chinese yuan for cross-border trade during a meeting with China’s top diplomat for the region.
Bashar al-Assad made the remarks during a meeting with Chinese Special Envoy to the Middle East Zhai Jun on Saturday, where he also praised Chinese mediation, which resulted in the rapprochement and improvement of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Assad emphasized the significance of the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to achieve development and economic cooperation.
The Syrian president emphasized that the conflict with the US and the West has been primarily economic, making it increasingly necessary to abandon the US dollar in transactions, and that BRICS countries can play a leading role in this area, as well as the option of adopting the Chinese yuan for inter-country trade transactions.
For his part, Chinese special envoy Zhai Jun expressed his country’s happiness with the Syrian people’s victory in their fight against terrorism, calling it a win for all countries that preserve their sovereignty and dignity.
He stated that Beijing will support Syria in international forums with words and deeds in defense of truth and justice, as well as in its fight against hegemony, terrorism, and external interference.
He expressed his country’s support for the positive developments in the rapprochement between Syria and the Arab countries.
