Russia for preserving compactness of UN Security Council - Churkin.

UNITED NATIONS, November 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia is an advocate of
preserving the compactness of the UN Security Council, its permanent
representative at the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, said at a meeting of
the 65th UN General Assembly session devoted to a discussion of reforming
the Security Council.
"We stand for preserving the compactness of the Security Council, and
we are convinced that ideas leading to the infringement of the
prerogatives of its current permanent members, including the institution
of the veto, are counterproductive," he said.
However, the diplomat underlined the fact that "Russia as a permanent
member of the Security Council has consistently advocated greater
efficiency of the Security Council, including steps to make it more
representative."
"However, efforts in this direction should not adversely affect the
efficiency of the Council," the Russian envoy to the United Nations said.
According to the Russian side, the final formula for a reform of the
UN Security Council "must be based on the widest possible support from its
members."
"The proposed models of Security Council reform have not received such
support so far," said Churkin. In such circumstances, he said, it is
necessary to go ahead with the work at the current General Assembly
session for a rapprochement of positions.
The Russian representative believes that the chairman of the UN
General Assembly should focus on providing "the maximum support for
achieving this goal", while the member-states are to retain a final say in
the negotiating process.
Such work "should be conducted in a transparent and inclusive manner,
without imposing any artificial schedules," said Churkin.
"How significant progress in the negotiations may be will depend on
the political will of states and their willingness to reach a reasonable
and effective compromise," he said.

RF's authorities plan no 2010 budget deficit corrections - Kudrin.

SEOUL, November 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian financial authorities do not
plan to make any amendments to this year's federal budget, Deputy Prime
Minister, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said in Seoul on Thursday.
"This year we will not adjust anything, we expect the actual execution
of the budget. Our benchmark is five percent," Kudrin said.

.Kudrin against unilateral decisions to weaken exchange rates.

SEOUL, November 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Deputy Prime Minister,
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin is against unilateral decisions in favor of
weakening national currencies.
As Kudrin told Russian journalists on the sidelines of the G20 meeting
in Seoul, "exchange rates are in first place in the debate among the
participants."
Asked about the possibility of so-called exchange rate wars, Kudrin
admitted that "problems can escalate and risks do exist."
"If countries artificially weaken currencies, this can lead to other
changes, so a common path must be looked for. There must be no attempts to
make things better for other countries at the expense of one," he said.
The Russian finance minister said that "Russia does not suffer
seriously either from the policies of the United States or from the policy
of China."
"We are always looking for consensus with our partners in the G20," he
added.
Kudrin also said in an interview to the Russia Today television news
channel that the other controversies were "related to the reform of the
IMF, the reform of financial markets regulation, development programs,
support for businesses."