(EVIAN) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday backed a call by his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy for an enlarged Group of Eight meeting to tackle the global financial crisis.

"I consider timely the idea of the president of France to organise a multilateral meeting to address the problems in the world financial system," Medvedev told an international policy conference in eastern France.

"Russia will actively participate in the process of reestablishing the global financial system and not just within the framework of the G8," he said ahead of talks with Sarkozy on the conference sidelines.

"We must include other key economies: China, India, Brazil," the Russian leader added.

Trading was frozen Wednesday on Russia's stock markets after they plunged more than 11 percent, driven downward by huge falls in Asia, despite Moscow boosting a bank rescue package by 36 billion dollars (26.6 billion euros).

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