ROME, January 31 (RIA Novosti, Olga Grinkrug) - Energy security and financial aid to the world's poorest countries - along with global economic development, education, and efforts to combat disease - will feature on the agenda of G8 finance ministers in Moscow February 10-11, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Tuesday.
"I think we will achieve serious progress in the Gleneagles initiative [from the 2005 G8 summit] to write off debts of the poorest countries to world financial organizations," Kudrin said at a joint news conference with his Italian counterpart, Giulio Tremonti.
Tremonti said Italy would focus on the issue of vaccines and infectious diseases.
Kudrin has already discussed the agenda of the Moscow meeting with other G8 finance ministers.
On the subject of Russia's energy supplies to Europe, Kudrin said, "Russia has been supplying energy resources to Europe for many years and the technical problems of the last two weeks cannot stop these permanent supplies."
European customers experienced a shortfall in Russian gas supplies this month, which Russia said was because transit country Ukraine had siphoned off gas intended for onward delivery. Kudrin said Russia would tackle the problem of Ukraine's unsanctioned gas use.
