By KUNA,
Moscow : Russian Preident Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday expressed his country’s readiness to take part in joint international efforts to try resolve the global food crisis.
The president, addressing an international economic conference in the northern city of Saint Petersburg, called for resolving the food crisis by means of encouraging agricultural production and altering energy strategies.
He also criticized certain powers “that have shown selfishness” for seeking to satisfy narrow interests.
His remarks coincided with substantial outcries on the global arena against the snowballing trend of using agricultural products for making duel, widely seen as a major factor that resulted in surging prices of necessities throughout the world.
Medvedev explicitly assailed nations that have shifted to agricultural industries at the expense of agricultural production, without considertion to the dire consequences on consumers of basic supplies.
He urged Western nations to refrain from eying Russian external investments with suspicion and expressed his belief that a major reason for the global financial crisis was the fact that the grand role of the United States did not reflect its actual potentials.
The president called for allowing Russia to play a greater in resolving the global financial crisis and indicated at schemes to transform the country into an international financial hub.
Up to 120 delegations representing 80 states are taking part in the conference.