OREANDA-NEWS. February 4, 2009. Vice PM and finance minister Alexey Kudrin is to attend Wednesday the first Russian-British Economic Dialogue under the aegis of British Finance Minister Alistair Darling that is expected to tackle issues related to the creation of new global financial architecture. These issues will be discussed at the G20 summit meeting in London on April 2, 2009. As a source with the Russian delegation said, this is a new venue for dialog between Russia and the UK, which was driven by the deepening global financial crisis.

"This is really quite a breakthrough in bilateral relations. Evident pragmatism and willingness to discuss very important issues relating to the financial and economic development of the Russian Federation and Great Britain have been demonstrated" – the same source said.

 "We expect information to be exchanged about the latest steps and measures, and also about their efficiency in overcoming repercussions of the global financial crisis, that the Russian and British governments have been taking, and the issue of a new financial architecture will also be raised" – the same source said. In this connection, discussions will focus on changing the functions assigned to international financial institutions, i.e. the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Financial Stability Forum. The source pointed out that, based on preliminary information, the UK welcomes Russia's entry into the Financial Stability Forum (FSF).