Venezuela's President Maduro has said the nation will sidestep the U.S. dollar and phase in use of its controversial petro token for oil sales starting next year.
According to a report from state-run media network TeleSUR on Thursday, Venezuela's President Maduro said that the move is aimed at minimizing the dollar's dominance in the industry and diversifying the global market.
Maduro was quoted as saying to the press:
"In 2019, we have a schedule for [oil] to be sold in petros and in this way continue to free us from a currency that the elite of Washington uses."The president reportedly has a six-year financial plan to use the token to avert the crippling impact of U.S.-led sanctions on Venezuela's economy. The announcement of the plan – which involves setting up trading in the petro with a range of currencies – comes after a meeting earlier this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.