ST. PETERSBURG, June 17. /TASS/. Lake Baikal should be the epitome of Russian ecotourism, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.

"I would like to focus on the task of promoting and preserving Baikal. In particular, a unique project of the comprehensive development of the town of Baikalsk is aimed at this, and it should become a model of thoughtful, environmentally oriented management. The goal is not only to eliminate the accumulated damage to nature inflicted by the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill, but also to bring the town to a fundamentally different level of life, and to make it the showcase of Russian ecotourism," he said.

According to the president, the project should be implemented with the use of bleeding-edge technology and renewable energy sources.

"In general, we will be developing clean technology to achieve the goals set for the environmental modernization of the enterprise, to reduce hazardous emissions into the atmosphere, especially in large industrial centers. We will also continue to work on projects of a closed-loop economy, on green projects and on climate conservation," the president concluded.