Around 90% of trade transactions between Russia and BRICS member states are now settled in national currencies, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, highlighting what Moscow described as growing financial cooperation within the bloc ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit in India.

Speaking during an online briefing with Indian media, Peskov said the expansion of settlements in national currencies reflected the success of efforts to strengthen alternative payment mechanisms within BRICS. He also said Russia was not seeking "de-dollarisation" for its own sake, stressing that Moscow remained open to all acceptable payment methods but opposed the use of international currencies as political tools.

Peskov said Russia attaches great importance to India's BRICS presidency and expressed confidence that the leaders' summit in New Delhi would further deepen cooperation among member states.

He noted that Russia supports closer coordination in the fields of economy and finance, security, and cultural and humanitarian cooperation, while also backing broader engagement with new partner countries.

Peskov said relations between Moscow and New Delhi continue to develop across a wide range of sectors, including space cooperation, energy, defence and trade.He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintain close contact and are expected to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, where trade and economic cooperation will be among the key agenda items.

The 18th BRICS Summit is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 12-13, bringing together leaders of the expanded BRICS grouping to discuss economic cooperation, global governance and financial coordination. (ILKHA)