Russia, China have their sights set on undercutting dollar’s dominance as reserve currency but economists are skeptical Russian companies will make bypassing the U.S. dollar in international transactions a top priority, the heads of three Russian banks said this week, in the latest sign that Russia is turning its back on the West and moving toward Asia. Sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European Union after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in March have spurred Western banks to drastically reduce their lending activity in Russia in recent months. Concerned the Russian economy was too reliant on the U.S. dollar and therefore vulnerable to Western political opprobrium, Russian politicians have called for a “de-dollarization” of their economy, underpinning a desire for greater independence from U.S. and European financial markets. “Over the last few weeks there has been a significant interest in the market from large Russian corporations to start using […]