RAS AL-KHAIMAH (UAE): The work on the development of settlement tools for BRICS-member states will continue despite US president-elect Donald Trump's threats to impose 100 per cent tariffs against the organisation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told Sputnik/RIA Novosti on Friday.
"This is a calculated platform opportunity. Of course, the work on it will continue," Pankin said on the sidelines of the XVII Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in the UAE's emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah.
The discussions do not involve a common currency, he clarified.
"It is not euro, nor is it euro-BRICS or BRICS-euro," the deputy minister said.
Moreover, Pankin added, Trump's recent statements on the matter could not have influenced the decision-making process.
"That is definitely not the case. I think that the president-elect's statements will change in the future. Not once and not in one direction. Which was typical of his first term," the Russian diplomat said.
On Nov 30, Trump threatened the BRICS countries that he would impose 100 per cent duties on them if they did not abandon plans to create an alternative currency to the dollar. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that it was too early to talk about the creation of a single BRICS currency.