Medvedev
Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8
By
Lyubov Pronina
July
10 (Bloomberg) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling
from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”
“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after
a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”
The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and
presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.
The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,”
Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how
interdependent we are.”
Medvedev
has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial
crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20
meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.