ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — President Dmitry Medvedev accused the United States on Saturday of “economic egotism,” saying it has fueled global troubles, and he portrayed Russia’s growing economic might as a force for worldwide stabilization.
Recklessness by big banks and what he called “the aggressive financial policies of the biggest economy in the world” have not hurt just corporations, Medvedev said. “Unfortunately, most people on the planet have become poorer,” he said.
Medvedev spoke to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a gathering of thousands of businessmen, a month after his inauguration. It was one of his most prominent domestic appearances so far in his presidency.
Although Medvedev had not shown much of predecessor Vladimir Putin’s penchant for criticizing the United States, his speech showed he shares Putin’s views of America as a power-hungry and sometimes irresponsible country intent on dominating world affairs.
In his speech to the forum opening, Medvedev said some countries increasingly strive to help themselves while ignoring the interests of others.
“In fact, this is growing economic egotism,” Medvedev said. He said that although this is natural in some respects, it sometimes amounts to “economic nationalism — when pragmatic interests are replaced with political considerations.”
Russia has often been accused of similar nationalism, allegedly using its enormous gas and oil reserves as instruments of political power.
But Medvedev said Russia is only using its resources to become more integrated in the global economy.
Medvedev wants to develop Russia’s hydrocarbons business further through liberalizing the gas market and easing the tax burden on the country’s oil sector. He said such steps would help ensure stability of global energy markets.
