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Russia blames US for global financial crisis
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-07 19:39 ST PETERSBURG - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev blamed "aggressive" United States policies on Saturday for the global financial crisis and said Moscow's growing economic muscle could be part of the solution.
"Failure by the biggest financial firms in the world to adequately take risk into account, coupled with the aggressive financial policies of the biggest economy in the world, have led not only to corporate losses," Medvedev told Russia's main annual event for international investors in St Petersburg. "Most people on the planet have become poorer." The Kremlin leader said investment by cash-rich Russian companies abroad, promotion of Moscow as a major financial centre and use of the ruble as a reserve currency were part of the answer. These could help solve problems created by what he said was a gap between the United States' leading global economic role and "its true capabilities." The Kremlin leader said economic nationalism had played a big part in triggering the current crisis, which he compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s. "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. The Kremlin leader also attacked big bonuses paid out in the financial world, saying regulators needed to ensure that incentives promoted "rational behavior based on a balanced evaluation of risks and rewards." US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, who spoke shortly after Medvedev, appeared to reject the criticism. He said the United States had never based its policies on "economic egoism" and believed in free trade. "Globalization is in the national interest," he added. Medvedev said Russia, now in the 10th year of an economic boom fuelled by soaring prices for its oil and gas exports, was in an ideal position to help solve the world financial crisis since it did not share the problems of other leading economies. "Russia is now a global player and understands its role in supporting the global community," the president 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," the Kremlin chief said. "Such a platform could become a permanent one." |
