Russia's Putin worried more about US dollar than euro

(LOS CABOS) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said he was "heartened" by Europe's approach to the eurozone crisis but wished the G20 would have paid more attention to the size of US foreign debt.

"I am heartened by the approach of the European Commission, with whom we rarely agree, and of the key eurozone countries, to how they plan to resolve the problems they face," Putin said at a press conference at the end of the two-day summit of the Group of 20 powers in Los Cabos, Mexico.

"We can expect the situation to change for the better, although institutional reasons of the crisis are still there," he said.

But the Russian leader lamented the lack of clarity on the future of the US dollar, which makes for a sizeable share of Russia's reserves, after US elections in November.

"If we keep (half of reserves) in dollars and US bonds, we would like to know what will happen with the dollar after the US presidential elections," the Russian leader said.

"Their debt is 15 trillion!" he added with a bewildered pause. "What will happen with the world's main reserve currency? What should we prepare for?"

"These are the questions that should be at the center of attention of the G20."

Putin, who met with US President Barack Obama Monday for intense two-way talks, has previously accused the US of being a "parasite" on the world economy for all of the debt it has issued to creditors.

He proposes that the world switches to other reserve currencies from the greenback, and that could be on the agenda when Russia hosts the next G20 summit in the historic city of St. Petersburg, where all the "obligations given by the Group of 20 countries will be reviewed," Putin said.

"I would like to underline that the G20 makes decisions that affect all world countries. And it does not have the right to only take into account its own positions and interests," the Russian leader said.