[Tony Blair] Wins Support From Putin on Africa Poverty, Climate Change

From Bloomberg

June 13 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair won backing from Russian President Vladimir Putin for plans to put poverty relief in Africa and global climate change at the center of the agenda for the Group of Eight nations.

``We fully support the ideas put forward by the U.K. and the prime minister,'' Putin said today after talks with Blair at the Russian leader's dacha outside Moscow. Blair said, ``There is a real prospect for progress on Africa and climate change'' at the G- 8 summit in Scotland on July 6-8.

Blair is seeking support for plans to double aid payments to Africa to a total of $50 billion by 2015 and to erase the debts of the world's poorest nations. He also wants industrial nations to step up commitments to cut pollution blamed for global warming.

Today's discussions also included questions about Russia's commitment to democracy and free markets after Putin's government jailed billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky on fraud charges.

``We discussed Africa and climate change and the Middle East and I am very glad to say there is a broad measure of agreement on all three issues,'' Blair said.

Putin's comments on Blair's plan for the G-8 suggest he will stick with commitments to cut pollution blamed for global warming. Russia in November ratified the Kyoto Protocol, mandating industrial nations cut emissions 5.2 percent from 1990 levels by 2012, though Putin's staff has suggested the nation will withdraw from the accord if it slows economic growth.

Economic Growth

Andrei Illarionov, an aid to Putin, said in February that Russia might renege on the treaty because it holds back economic growth. Russia produces a sixth of the pollution blamed for global warming and is the world's second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. Putin is attempting to diversify the nation's $533 billion a year economy.

``We discussed these matters at length,'' Putin said. ``The method formulated by the prime minister regarding climate change is very close to our own approach. Russia ratified the Kyoto Protocol and that was not an easy process.''

Putin rejected comparisons between Russia and Africa, saying his nation was committed to democracy.

``The big issue in Russia is the political changes, human rights and freedom of speech,'' Greg Austin, director of the Foreign Policy Center, a London-based policy consultant established by Blair, said before the talks. ``Africa is not the most important issue on the agenda.''

Debt Relief

Putin sought Blair's help in winning debt relief for eastern European countries formerly in the Soviet Union including Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova, now part of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

``We don't always have easy-going relations with some CIS countries,'' Putin said. ``But they want our support.''

The jailing of Khodorkovsky, the former head of OAO Yukos Oil Co., is one of the most visible signs of Putin's tightening grip on power since he won a second four-year term in March 2004.

Investors pulled $9.5 billion out of Russia last year after Putin's government prosecuted Khodorkovsky on fraud charges and slapped Yukos with a tax bill for $28 billion. BP Plc, Europe's biggest oil company, maintains an $8 billion joint venture to pump oil out of Russia, the world's second-biggest petroleum exporter behind Saudi Arabia.

Since his re-election, Putin has stepped up raids on businesses accused of tax evasion and rebels in the southern province of Chechnya. He's also planning to abolish elections for Russia's regional governors and to replace direct elections for members of Parliament with a vote on party slates. The Chechen raids culminated with the deaths of 339 people during a hostage crisis in Beslan in September.

Talks With Schroeder

Blair was to leave Moscow after the meeting with Putin to travel to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Tomorrow, he meets with French President Jacques Chirac and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. Those discussions will lay the foundation for a meeting of European Union leaders this week in Brussels.

The talks also will sketch out the agenda for the G-8 summit on July 6-8 in Scotland. Blair has said he wants to make progress fighting global warming and win backing from world leaders for a plan to combat poverty, disease and slow economic growth in Africa.

Pop musicians led by Bob Geldof and Bono, the lead singer of U2, are organizing a series of concerts in London, Berlin, Philadelphia and Paris to put pressure on G-8 leaders to act.