Putin's aide lambast dollar as "drug the entire world got hooked on"

The dollar has become a drug that the whole world has been addicted to, Maxim Oreshkin, presidential aide, said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"I would say that the dollar is not a weapon. It is a drug that the entire world has been hooked on in terms of settlements, servicing the banking system and so on. Of course, giving up a drug is not an easy story. But understanding that it is a drug and it is not good, is now growing in the world, in most of the world," Oreshkin said.

According to him, trust in the currency was undermined by huge mistakes in macroeconomic policy of Western countries in 2020-2021. Confidence in the Western political system has been also undermined, Oreshkin added.