Russia’s chairmanship of G8 will promote the increase of energy markets transparency - Kudrin
* RUSSIA * FINANCE MINISTRY * ENERGY *
Moscow, Feb 9, 2006. - RIA Novosti – Russia’s chairmanship of the Group of Eight will promote the increase of transparency of the energy markets, Russia’s finance minister Alexei Kudrin said.

According to him, the G8 countries express concern about such issues as accounting transparency and resources classification.

“Russia, which is the currently chairman of G8, will provide total assistance within the frames of the initiative and involvement of other countries, first of all, the oil producing nations”, Kudrin said at the press conference in RIA Novosti about the agenda of G8 summit.

The agenda of the summit is completely coordinated and ready to G8 finance ministers meeting, which will be held on Friday in Moscow.

According to Kudrin, the topic of energy provision of global economy will be discussed at the summit. This is not only the issue of energy supplies, but also game rules of the energy sector and involvement of alternative energy sources, the minister noted.

He considers the diversification of energy sources “a vital topic of the global agenda” that is dictated by high oil prices.

Another unanimously supported topic of the G8 summit agenda was the “assistance to poor countries and resolving the problems of development”, Kudrin said.