To: md1derful who wrote (811 ) 8/28/1998 9:30:00 AM From: Petrus Respond to of 947
Joint letter offers Western help on Russia reforms Friday August 28, 9:02 am Eastern Time BONN, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The finance ministers of Europe's four biggest economies on Friday offered their close cooperation in dealing with Moscow's currency and debt crisis in a letter to acting Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. The letter from Europe's members of the Group of Seven -- Germany, France, Britain and Italy -- said full implementation of reforms agreed with the IMF offered the best way for Russia to return to growth and stability, the Bonn Finance Ministry said. ''This is the only way to restore the confidence of international financial markets,'' the Finance Ministry said in a statement on the letter. The joint letter -- signed by German Finance Minister Theo Waigel, France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Britain's Gordon Brown and Italy's Carlo Azeglio Ciampi -- follows conversations in the wake of Chernomyrdin's appointment last weekend. Russian President Boris Yeltsin turned to his old ally Chernomyrdin after making former premier Sergei Kiriyenko the scapegoat for a debt moratorium and the abandonment of efforts to maintain a stable rouble. ''The finance ministers agree it is vital to strengthen the foundations of public finances with a fair tax system and to adopt measures to restore the stability of the financial system,'' the statement continued. ''It is also decisive that the Russian central bank is able to pursue an independent, stability-oriented monetary policy.'' Related News Categories: international, options, politics Help Copyright c 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. ------ Previous