IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the G20 summit last week in Cannes, France. Leaders at the meeting balked at writing new checks for the eurozone's bailout, demanding the EU governments first do more to fix the 2-year-old debt crisis. [Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg]

Lagarde meets with Russia, China as EU courts developing economies

MOSCOW - Russia is seeking a "significant increase" in the weight of developing economies in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after pledging to contribute in the euro region's bailout.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Moscow on Monday after Russia agreed to channel funds through the Washington-based lender.

Russia expects agreement on higher membership quotas in return, the Kremlin said in an e-mailed statement before the meeting. Lagarde will travel to China on Tuesday.

European policymakers are looking beyond their borders to help more than double the size of their 440-billion-euro ($603 billion) rescue fund to 1 trillion euros.

The BRICS group of emerging economies, comprising Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, discussed aid for the eurozone last week at the G20 summit in Cannes, France.

World leaders at the meeting balked at writing new checks for the eurozone's bailout, demanding the currency-sharing area's governments first do more to fix the 2-year-old debt crisis. They demanded more details of a rescue package before committing fresh cash to the IMF.

The BRICS group is prepared to take part in a "common effort" of helping Europe cope with the crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow on Monday at a joint briefing with his Irish counterpart, Eamon Gilmore.

The BRICS will decide on a "financial contribution" to the fund in the "coming weeks", Arkady Dvorkovich, Medvedev's economic adviser, said on Nov 4.

Russia is ready to provide assistance through the IMF beyond an existing Russian commitment to the fund of $10 billion, Dvorkovich said.

Russia and its BRICS partners in return are seeking sufficient voting power to "influence key decisions" at the IMF, he said.

"Apparently there are terms, there are strings attached," said Masha Lipman, an analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.

"BRICS nations are saying they will commit funds to Europe. However, they want higher quotas; they want bigger representation in the IMF," Lipman told Bloomberg Television on Monday. "Of course, the IMF is cautious, which is why there is bargaining."

Emerging economies have urged an end to the convention of recruiting the IMF's head from Europe and World Bank presidents from the United States.

Lagarde, a former French finance minister, was appointed to the IMF's top position in June after Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn quit the post.

Bloomberg News