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DE RUEHMO #1696/01 1801404
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R 291404Z JUN 09 (CCY AD828AD6 MSI4397-632)
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4003
INFO RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 001696 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y 
(DROP ADDRESSEE ADDED - YEKATERINBURG) 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECIN EFIN BR CH IN RS
 
SUBJECT: FIRST BRIC SUMMIT OFFERS NO CONCRETE RESULTS 
 
REF: Yekaterinburg 36 
 
MOSCOW 00001696  001.5 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Though labeled a resounding success by Russian 
President Medvedev, the first formal BRIC summit offered few 
concrete results.  While downplaying the future role of the group, 
Russian MFA officials stressed that BRIC was a consultative forum 
that aims to address pressing global problems.  MFA officials also 
stated that Russia was pleased with BRIC's existing structure and 
that there were currently no plans to institutionalize the group. 
Experts, meanwhile, are skeptical of BRIC's potential, noting that 
the divergent interests of the member states may hinder BRIC's 
effectiveness and development beyond a loose political grouping. 
End Summary. 
 
---------------- 
A First for BRIC 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Russian President Medvedev, Chinese President Hu Jintao, 
Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, and Indian Prime 
Minister Manmohan Singh met June 16 in Yekaterinburg for the first 
formal BRIC summit.  Prior to the summit, Medvedev said that he 
wanted to discuss "traditional" international security issues 
alongside economic issues, but the talks were dominated by economic, 
food, and energy security issues. 
 
¶3. (SBU) President Medvedev indicated in a June 16 news conference 
following the summit that the discussion centered on how to 
encourage fairer decision-making in the international arena or, in 
other words, how to build a "just world order."  Medvedev said that 
the summit met expectations and was a historic event of "exceptional 
significance."  Following the summit, the four leaders released a 
joint statement that called for a more multi-polar world.  The 
statement emphasized the need for reform in the international 
financial arena and for cooperation and coordination to encourage 
energy security. 
 
--------------------- 
Down with the Dollar? 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) President Medvedev publicly raised the eventual possibility 
of a supranational currency to replace the U.S. dollar as the main 
global currency at the June 15-16 Shanghai Cooperation Organization 
meeting, but refrained from doing so at the BRIC summit (ref).  The 
joint statement that resulted from the summit, however, emphasized 
the international community's need for a more diverse monetary 
system.  Although the details of such a currency remain undecided, 
according to the statement the objective would be to decrease the 
global economy's reliance on the U.S. dollar and expand the voice of 
emerging economies in the international financial organizations. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Although several Russian officials have repeatedly 
mentioned the idea of a supranational currency in public, privately 
our interlocutors, as well as experts, have expressed skepticism 
that this idea will go forward.  They view the discussion 
surrounding a supranational currency as an indication of the 
profound loss of faith in a single dominant currency, which resulted 
from the global financial crisis. 
 
----------------------------------- 
No Agreement on BRIC's Significance 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Experts have emphasized that the BRIC member states have 
very little in common, and, as a result, it is premature to claim 
that they will be able to find answers to today's global problems. 
Gennadiy Chufrin of the Institute of World Economy and International 
Relations (IMEMO) called BRIC a mere "propaganda balloon" at this 
stage.  Commentators were hard pressed to find commonalities among 
the member states in terms of culture, economic structure, or paths 
to development.  Nezavisimaya Gazeta described BRIC as "a mere 
outline of a new international club" and urged that its significance 
should not be overestimated. 
 
-------------------------- 
MFA Downplays Role of BRIC 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Despite the more heightened attention to BRIC as a result 
of the June 16 summit, MFA officials stressed that the United 
 
MOSCOW 00001696  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
Nations is the central global consultative forum and that the G-20 
has been the main crisis response center to the global economic 
crisis.  The MFA hopes that BRIC will become a stronger, unified 
voice within the U.N. and G-20.  Comparing BRIC to regional 
organizations such as the CSTO, APEC, and SADC, they stated that 
BRIC is one forum, of many, for addressing the global economic 
crisis. 
 
¶8. (SBU) According to MFA officials, there are no plans to 
institutionalize BRIC or alter the current structure of the group. 
They underline that BRIC currently is only a consultative mechanism 
without a formal structure, and that further institutionalization of 
the group will be determined by the need for and the ability of BRIC 
to address pressing global issues such as climate change, 
humanitarian crises, international security issues, and the economic 
crisis. 
 
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Comment 
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¶9. (SBU) Despite concerns about inflationary pressures on the 
dollar, Russia is unlikely to advance its cause among BRIC states 
for an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the main global currency. 
While BRIC countries will have to work to find common ground, the 
recent summit may serve as a starting point for more foreign and 
economic policy coordination between the four states.  Though 
labeled a resounding success by Medvedev, the first formal BRIC 
summit offered mostly words and few concrete results. 
BEYRLE