U.S. is in no shape to give advice, Medvedev says
"Moscow: Russia's new president, Dmitri Medvedev, less swaggering than his predecessor but as touchy about criticism from abroad, said in an interview that an America in "essentially a depression" was in no position to lecture other countries on how to conduct their affairs.
With soaring oil revenues bolstering the Russian economy and Kremlin confidence, Medvedev brushed aside American criticism of his country's record on democracy and human rights. He also said that a revived Russia had a right to assume a larger role in a world economic system that he suggested should no longer be dominated by the United States.
Medvedev made his comments on Tuesday in a meeting with a small group of foreign journalists a day after the American treasury secretary, Henry Paulson Jr., appealed in Moscow for Russian investment in the United States. The symbolism of the visit resonated here, in that only a decade had passed since the Russian economy was in shambles and the country was desperate for Western aid.
Medvedev seemed to be seeking in the interview to raise his profile before attending the Group of 8 meeting of industrialized nations next week in Japan. Medvedev leads Russia in tandem with his predecessor and mentor, Vladimir Putin, who is now prime minister and is still widely considered Russia's pre-eminent leader.
In the interview, Medvedev was asked about a call by Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to bar Russia from the Group of 8 because of its record on democracy. Medvedev, who easily won Russia's presidential election in March after the Kremlin hobbled the opposition, responded that the question of democracy was irrelevant to the Group of 8 and, besides, the United States had more pressing matters to attend to.
"The Group of 8 exists not because someone likes or dislikes it, but because objectively, they are the biggest world economies and the most serious players from the foreign policy point of view," Medvedev said. "Any attempts to put restrictions on anyone in this capacity will damage the entire world order."
He added, "I am sure that any administration of the United States of America, if it wishes to succeed, among other things, in overcoming essentially a depression that exists in the American economic market, must conduct a pragmatic policy inside the country and abroad."
Medvedev said world leaders should realize that the credit crunch and a gathering global recession signaled that the worldwide economic architecture needed to be overhauled. He did not specify how this should be done, but indicated it should entail a reduction in the influence of the United States."
...
"A former law professor who has spent much of his career as a behind-the-scenes bureaucrat, Medvedev showed a wide-ranging knowledge of foreign and domestic issues, confidently answering questions for 90 minutes without notes and speaking at length without stumbling. The president, who is 42, spoke only in Russian but did not need an interpreter to understand questions posed in English."
SOURCE
From Russia, with {very little?} love.
Good luck at the G-8 Mr. President {of The Federation of Russia}. I'm much more fond of you and yours than I am my own government.
...and as for that last part...Oh, what I would give for a competent leader! {FYI, folks, there doesn't seem to be one remaining in the current Presidential race...so sad.}
With soaring oil revenues bolstering the Russian economy and Kremlin confidence, Medvedev brushed aside American criticism of his country's record on democracy and human rights. He also said that a revived Russia had a right to assume a larger role in a world economic system that he suggested should no longer be dominated by the United States.
Medvedev made his comments on Tuesday in a meeting with a small group of foreign journalists a day after the American treasury secretary, Henry Paulson Jr., appealed in Moscow for Russian investment in the United States. The symbolism of the visit resonated here, in that only a decade had passed since the Russian economy was in shambles and the country was desperate for Western aid.
Medvedev seemed to be seeking in the interview to raise his profile before attending the Group of 8 meeting of industrialized nations next week in Japan. Medvedev leads Russia in tandem with his predecessor and mentor, Vladimir Putin, who is now prime minister and is still widely considered Russia's pre-eminent leader.
In the interview, Medvedev was asked about a call by Senator John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to bar Russia from the Group of 8 because of its record on democracy. Medvedev, who easily won Russia's presidential election in March after the Kremlin hobbled the opposition, responded that the question of democracy was irrelevant to the Group of 8 and, besides, the United States had more pressing matters to attend to.
"The Group of 8 exists not because someone likes or dislikes it, but because objectively, they are the biggest world economies and the most serious players from the foreign policy point of view," Medvedev said. "Any attempts to put restrictions on anyone in this capacity will damage the entire world order."
He added, "I am sure that any administration of the United States of America, if it wishes to succeed, among other things, in overcoming essentially a depression that exists in the American economic market, must conduct a pragmatic policy inside the country and abroad."
Medvedev said world leaders should realize that the credit crunch and a gathering global recession signaled that the worldwide economic architecture needed to be overhauled. He did not specify how this should be done, but indicated it should entail a reduction in the influence of the United States."
...
"A former law professor who has spent much of his career as a behind-the-scenes bureaucrat, Medvedev showed a wide-ranging knowledge of foreign and domestic issues, confidently answering questions for 90 minutes without notes and speaking at length without stumbling. The president, who is 42, spoke only in Russian but did not need an interpreter to understand questions posed in English."
SOURCE
From Russia, with {very little?} love.
Good luck at the G-8 Mr. President {of The Federation of Russia}. I'm much more fond of you and yours than I am my own government.
...and as for that last part...Oh, what I would give for a competent leader! {FYI, folks, there doesn't seem to be one remaining in the current Presidential race...so sad.}