/ 7 June 2008

Russia says US can’t solve financial crisis alone

Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday the United States was not strong enough to solve the world financial crisis alone and offered to convene a global conference in Moscow to tackle the issue.

In a keynote speech to Russia’s main annual event for international investors, Medvedev said the gap between the US’s leading role in the global economic system and its real abilities was one of the ”key reasons” for the current crisis.

”No matter how big the American market and no matter how strong the American financial system, they are incapable of substituting for global commodity and financial markets,” Medvedev told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Russia, now in the tenth year of an economic boom fuelled by soaring prices for its oil exports, could play a role in helping to stabilise the situation, he added.

”Russia is now a global player and understands its role in supporting the global community,” the president said.

Medvedev, sworn in last month, said world institutions had proved unable to cope with the challenges from volatility on world markets, including soaring commodity and food prices.

With its past as a grain exporter, Russia was ready for joint action to overcome the food problem and could also convene an international conference on the financial crisis, he added.

”I propose holding a representative international conference involving the heads of the biggest financial companies and leading financial analysts … as early as this year,” Medvedev said.

The world lacked liquid investable assets because of disappointment with the US dollar and needed alternatives, he added.

Russia would adopt an action plan in the near future to become a global financial centre and make the rouble one of the key leading regional reserve currencies, Medvedev said.

The Russian leader also said that recent Kremlin moves to liberalise the domestic gas market and reduce taxes on the oil sector would help stabilise global energy markets. Russia is the world’s biggest gas producer and its second biggest oil exporter. – Reuters 2008