World trade needs alternatives to dollar - Brazil

PARIS, July 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the U.S. dollar would remain important for decades but he believed it was possible to develop new trade relations not dependent on the dollar.

In an interview published on Tuesday by French newspaper Le Monde, Lula said the world's dependence on the dollar was not a good thing and alternatives were needed. Debate on the issue would last a very long time, however.

"The dollar will still be important for decades. Replacing it in world trade is not a simple thing. But Brazil believes in the possiblity of new trade relations not dependent on the dollar," Lula was quoted as saying by Le Monde. (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon, editing by Anna Willard)