The G8 is an unofficial association of governments of developed countries, created with the aim of working out joint solutions to economic and political problems. It includes the USA, Canada, Russia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Japan. The "summit" is usually understood as the annual meeting of this association, which takes place in all participating countries in turn.
This year the meeting will take place in the American city of Camp David, located in Maryland. On the agenda are issues related to Iran's nuclear program, the war in Afghanistan, the state of the European economy, the situation in Syria and North Korea. It is noteworthy that the current delegation from the Russian Federation will be headed not by the president, but by the head of the government, Dmitry Medvedev.
Russia's views on security issues differ in many ways from those of other participants in the summit. In particular, our country's concern is caused by the desire of some countries to solve the Iranian problem by military means. Dmitry Medvedev will insist that a military operation against Iran will destabilize the situation in this region and around the world, and will also negatively affect the global economic situation. Russia also considers the sanctions to be ineffective, and has prepared a number of its own proposals on this issue.
Regarding the situation in Syria, it was agreed that there needs to be some kind of political transition to a new level. At the meeting, the Russian representative office will insist that this process maximally meet the needs of the Syrian people. Dmitry Medvedev also agreed with Washington's position on the situation in North Korea. Russia considers it necessary to insist that this country does not violate its international obligations. If provocations on its part continue, the G8 countries will increase its isolation.
Moscow will support the programs of the countries participating in the summit to stabilize the economic situation in European territories. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation also does not intend to reduce the volume of its monetary reserves, which are kept in European currency.
“The Russian economy is closely linked with the EU economy. In our country, Europe accounts for almost fifty percent of the total trade turnover. These are very large numbers, hundreds of billions of euros. Therefore, it is important for us what will happen in this area,”Dmitry Medvedev said.
