The main part of the G20 summit in Canada got underway on Sunday with the first of three sessions to focus on the global economic situation.
Leaders of the world's 19 biggest economies, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, arrived in Toronto for a working dinner on Saturday evening. They will also have a working lunch on Sunday, and a joint statement will be issued at a news conference after the meeting.
The 20th member of the G20 is the European Union, while the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Central Bank also take part in the gatherings. The group accounts for 85 percent of world GDP.
Top Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said ahead of the summit that the leaders would discuss further measures to stabilize the financial situation in Europe. He said the main issue would be finding a balance between reducing budget deficits and national debt and pursuing measures to stimulate the economy.
Dvorkovich also said reform of international financial institutions, primarily the IMF and World Bank, would also be addressed. Negotiations on the reforms, a key goal for Moscow, will be completed before the November G20 summit in South Korea, the president's aide said.
The third topic will be national measures to reform financial markets, including the introduction in some countries of a special tax on banks or financial transactions.
Dvorkovich stressed that Russia opposes such taxes, which could lead to negative consequences for the availability of credit and services. Several other countries are also against the idea, which is expected to be confirmed in principle at the summit but left up to individual nations to implement if they wish.
He said the fourth main theme would be agreements in various fields including trade, climate and energy subsidies.
The first summit G20 summit was held in Washington in November 2008 as the extent of the global financial crisis became clear, with subsequent meetings in London in April 2009 and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, last September.
TORONTO, June 27 (RIA Novosti)
