Putin says Russia must diversify currencies it uses in international trade

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow needed to diversify the foreign currencies it used in international trade and not solely rely on the U.S. dollar for such transactions.

The Russian central bank has been increasing the share of gold and Chinese yuan in its coffers amid risks of more U.S. sanctions that could target Russia's ability to trade globally.

(Reporting by Denis Pinchuk, Polina Nikolskaya and Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Andrew Osborn)