The United States is making a mistake by undermining the trust in the U.S. dollar, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.

"It seems to me that our American partners are making a colossal strategic mistake (as they) undermine the credibility of the dollar as a universal and the only reserve currency today. They are undermining faith in it… They really are taking a saw to the branch they are sitting on," Putin said.

According to the Russian president, the U.S. is making a "typical mistake" of an empire.

"People think that nothing will happen, everything is so powerful, everything is so strong and stable, there will be no negative consequences. But, no, they come sooner or later," he added.

Earlier, the Russian government said it was working on "reducing our economy's dependence on the American currency, including through stimulating [use of alternative currencies] and the creation of mechanisms to shift foreign-trade settlements to national currencies."

The idea of de-dollarizing the Russian economy has been on the agenda since U.S. imposed economic sanctions against Russia and its companies over Moscow's aggression against Ukraine.