Venezuela will use Petro to buy spare parts for Russian cars

The Venezuelan government intends to buy Russian auto parts with its cryptocurrency issued by the state. Ministers from both countries have discussed the use of petro in bilateral transactions during a high-level meeting in Caracas. Possible investments of Russian crypto are also on the agenda.

Read also: Venezuelans to buy houses and properties with state cryptocurrency

Caracas will build Kamaz with paid Kits in Crypto
Officials from Venezuela and Russia agreed to expand economic cooperation between the two countries. The bilateral intergovernmental commission met over the weekend in the capital of Venezuela. The talks covered different aspects of the "strategic partnership". The two sides discussed joint projects in areas such as energy, construction and the army. The ministers have also talked about the use of the Venezuelan cryptocurrency recently issued in international transactions. Possible investments in Russian crypto have also been mentioned.

Venezuela will use Petro to buy spare parts from Russia The South American country has revealed plans to assemble Russian Kamaz trucks. Caracas intends to pay for the car parts in petro, Russian and local media reported. The national cryptocurrency will be used to buy components, tires, batteries and spare parts, according to Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Trade, José Vielma Mora. "The cooperation includes payments with the petro," Mora said, quoted by the Venezuelan News Agency.

Venezuela and Russia want to increase the volume of their bilateral trade by 30 percent this year. The two sides have discussed other strategic projects, including an alliance between energy companies Rosneft and Petróleos de Venezuela. Economic relations will expand amid the intensification of Western sanctions imposed on both nations. Last month, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, signed an executive order that prohibits US citizens from using Venezuelan cryptography. According to media reports, Russia may have been involved in its development. Officials in Moscow have rejected the accusations.

The administration of President Nicolás Maduro launched the petro in February. The authorities of Caracas claim that they have raised $ 735 million dollars with the pre-sale of the cryptocurrency issued by the government. More than 200,000 orders have been placed from 133 countries during the 30-day period.

Since March 23, the petro can be purchased with Russian rubles, Chinese yuan, Turkish lira and euro, as well as with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Maduro announced the creation of four exclusive economic zones where it will be accepted as a means of payment. Venezuelans will be able to buy houses and other properties with cryptography backed by oil. The real estate business in petro will be authorized on April 20.

The EAEU country will soon issue another state currency
Venezuela will use Petro to buy spare parts from Russia The use of cryptocurrency to evade sanctions has also been discussed in Russia. Last summer, the Central Bank announced intentions to study possibilities to issue a "virtual national currency". However, decisions on the so-called "cryptoruble" have been postponed. In December, CBR vice president Olga Skorobogatova said Russia would hold consultations with its EAEU and BRICS partners on the creation of a common digital currency for transactions between member states.

On Tuesday Skorobogatova confirmed that discussions are taking place on the possible use of distributed accounting technologies to process transactions and transmit financial information within the Eurasian Economic Union. Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federations are members of the organization. Belarus became the first to legalize activities related to cryptography, and Russia will do the same for summer.

Last week, President Putin's adviser on regional policy, Sergey Glazyev, hinted that an EAEU country could issue a national cryptocurrency by the end of the year. During the BlockchainRF-2018 conference in Moscow, Glazyev said that the first member state to create its own crypto will obtain "gigantic advantages". Until that happens, Venezuela is still the only country in the world that has issued a national cryptocurrency.