Syria has switched the primary hard currency it uses for foreign goods and services from the U.S. dollar to the euro in a bid to make it less vulnerable to pressure from Washington.
The decree signed by Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari on Monday ordered government bodies and public-sector companies to use euros to pay for foreign transactions.
The head of the state-run Commercial Bank of Syria, Dureid Dergham, was quoted as saying Tuesday that the switch to euros is “important and necessary in light of the current U.S. threats against Syria.”
