MOSCOW, November 2 (Itar-Tass) — President Dmitry Medvedev will leave St Petersburg by air on Wednesday night for Cannes to attend a G20 summit. The Russian leader will participate in a key discussion dealing with the world's economic outlook and the fight against the threat of a new global downturn.
Ahead of the summit, experts, in particular, come to agree that its success will depend in many respects on the attitude of BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the Republic of South Africa), which may become a stabilizing factor in the world economy in the foreseeable future. This is why the Russian President's participation is being awaited in Cannes with an increased attention.
Unlike the period of the 1990s when Russia was only adapting itself to the timetable of the world's leading countries so as to be present if only partically at this kind of forums, it now carries such a political and economic weight that it can permit itself to choose a format of its participation in summits.
Medvedev's aide Arkady Dvorkovich has said the President will take part only in in the first day of the Cannes forum which will be held from November 3 to 4 and then will leave it in view of Russian affairs back at home.
"The President will arrive (in Cannes) on Wednesday night ahead of the summit. He is planning to participate in the first day - on November 3. On November 4 we have a (scheduled) festive occasion to mark. So, the President will return home," Dvorkovich said. The other members of the delegation -- Finance Ministry officials and Dvorkovich will continue to participate in the work of the summit.
The state of the world economy and a set of measures which could help resist a second wave of downturn will be the main subject of discussion. "Judging by the figures, it is seen that risks still remain so far. However, the previous summit decision allows one to be moderately optimistic. We believe that the amount of money for support (of the world and European economies) is sufficient," Dvorkovich emphasized.
Euro Area stability and the state of the world economy will be a subject of discussion at the first two working sessions of the summit and will be critically important, according to the estimate made by France, which presides over the G-20. The President of the Russian Federation intends to put emphasis precisely on these two sessions of November 3, since for Moscow it is necessary that Europe remain stable. Otherwise,a period of instability would also affect Russia as part of Europe.
A third session, Dvorkovich said, will be devoted to international social stability assistance, and the fourth one on the first day of the summit will deal with "global management and everything connected with the World Trade Organization (WTO)".
The second day of the summit, Dvorkovich said, will begin with a session dedicated to financial regulation, the regulation of other markets, fight against corruption, food security matters, as well as G20 outlook and the holding of next summit. A decision on 2013 presidency in the G20 is to be made on the second day of the summit.
Dvorkovich stressed that on all items on the agenda Russia has got a stand of its own and will be uphoding it at the summit.
Russia is ready to support the European Union only by funds amounting to $10 billion through the International Monetary Fund (IMF). "The stated figures are tentative. So far we are planning to use our money through the IMF machinery," Dvorkovich said.
In answer to journalists' question whether any bilateral aid will be given to European countries which found themselves in a fix, such as Greece or, for example, Italy, Dvorkovich pointed out: "Formally there have been no EU requests for that". He said if such requests come in, "Our competent agencies -- the Finance Ministry, the Central Bank, and the Government, which will need a presidential approval -- will examine such a request in earnest".
However, in that case Russia would have to create actually a new mechanism to monitor how the funds assigned would be spent. This is precisely why Moscow so far prefers the option of support for the EU as a whole through the IMF.
On the sidelines of the summit, Medvedev will have contacts with a number of world leaders. He will have only informal contacts with Barack Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Angela Merkel and hold official meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told reporters that, considering the current situation, the possibility of holding a full-scale BRICS summit in Cannes is under consideration. "The world economic situation, the Euro Area crisis, the reform of the international currency system, the regulation of the amassment of reserves, the Doha round of the WTO negotiations, global climate change and G20 tasks may be highlighted at the BRICS summit,” Prikhodko said.
In the evening of Nov 3, Medvedev will leave Cannes and return to Russia for the celebration of the Day of People's Unity.