Russia dangles eurozone aid offer at EU summit

(BRUSSELS) - Russia dangled a $20-billion offer of IMF-run aid for the eurozone on Thursday as President Dmitry Medvedev held his last summit with EU leaders amid splits on energy, Syria and Iran.

The elections to replace Medvedev in March also came under scrutiny following the allegations of fraud and protests that greeted Russian parliamentary elections earlier this month.

Medvedev adviser Arkady Dvorkovich said Moscow was ready to contribute as soon as the IMF calls in its help.

"Ten billion dollars is the minimum commitment," he said, adding that Moscow would "consider" giving another 10 billion depending on "the size of the gap" in European efforts to raise overall rescue funding to a targeted one trillion euros.

"If the gap is half a trillion and we don't know where other 490 billion are coming from, that would not be much point," he said.

He said after talks that began overnight that 10 billion dollars due to be returned from the IMF next year could remain with the IMF "today" for special eurozone aid as soon as the Fund calls on it.

EU states have pledged to boost IMF crisis defences with loans of 200 billion euros ($265 billion). At a summit on Friday, EU leaders set a deadline of December 19 for pledges or ideas.

"What we need to do is make markets believe," Dvorkovich said, adding that Brazil, China, India and South Africa, the other so-called BRICS emerging giants, "will not object" to the IMF channelling money to the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

"European leaders seem to be more optimistic than before," he added following a private dinner of the partners late Wednesday. "Now they were able to say very specific things."

The summit proper gathered EU president Herman Van Rompuy, executive head Jose Manuel Barroso, foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger.

Medvedev was joined by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plus Economic Development and Trade Minister Elvira Nabiullina.

"Both the Union and Russia are at a crossroads," Van Rompuy told Medvedev during his opening speech.

"The EU is manoeuvring its way through the sovereign debt crisis. We are on our way to bringing confidence to the eurozone," he added.

Questions facing Russia "are no less important," Van Rompuy said, urging Moscow to maintain modernisation "based on democratic values, built on a modern economy and ensuring further political reforms."

That was a reference to what officials said would be calls for a squeaky-clean presidential poll in March which is expected to hand victory to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The parliamentary elections sparked mass street protests at the weekend and left Putin's ruling party with a reduced majority.

An EU official had said beforehand the bloc would press Medvedev on "democratic development, the rule of law and human rights."

Medvedev in his initial remarks said he was "confident" the EU would overcome the debt crisis, but made no reference to any contribution.

Instead, he said he hoped Friday's signing in Geneva of Russia's World Trade Organization accession, 18 years in the making, "could activate" an EU-Russia cooperation agreement left on the starting blocks because WTO rules are an integral part of EU regulations.

The EU and Russia are far apart on a Trans-Caspian pipeline which Brussels is now negotiating with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, but Medvedev highlighted Russian reliability as an energy partner for the EU.

He was due to meet leaders from giant industrial corporations such as Siemens or Deutsche Bahn later Thursday.

Money for the eurozone aside, which remains conditional and dependent on IMF decisions, the rest of the talks were to focus on "deliverables" including the first tentative steps towards a cherished Russian goal of visa-free travel in and out of the bloc.

Some short trips will be made easier once biometric passports are introduced alongside other changes.

EU - Russia Summit