Russia will put forward a set of proposals, including discussions on a global reserve currency, at the upcoming G20 summit in London.

The proposals come as Russia believes the current global economic crisis has demonstrated a need to abandon traditional approaches.

The crisis, according to Russia, resulted from the collapse of the existing financial system due to poor management. Russia proposes establishing a new international financial architecture based on democracy and equal responsibility for decision-making, efficient coordination and transparency.

Russia said the main goals and principles of the reform of the world financial regulatory system should take into account the opinions of key world economies, developed and developing alike.

In order to strengthen the sustainability of the world financial system, Russia underlines the importance of developing a diversified system of reserve currencies and financial centers.

Russian officials have insisted that the world must move either toward a greater number of reserve currencies, including regional ones, or towards a global reserve currency, such as the Special Drawing Rights created by the International Monetary Fund.

Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich told a briefing on Monday that these two ways could complement each other.

He said the current reserve system was inadequate, with high risks that countries responsible for the issuance of the reserve currencies may take unilateral actions that could hurt other economies.

"Russia is proposing to begin a discussion about reserve currencies... we will insist on the need for such a discussion in the subsequent months at every level, academic, political and professional," he was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as saying.

Moscow has also called for the establishment of an up-to-date risk management system consistent with the development of financial technologies.

Russia suggests that an international conference be held after the London summit to discuss the patterns of the new global finance architecture and adopt international conventions on a new global financial regulatory framework.

Russia definitely wants to increase its presence and share in international financial institutions, Russia's Vechernyaya Moskva newspaper reported recently. But the newspaper predicted that many other participants at the summit are unlikely to accept the Russian proposal for a new international currency.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2009)