Russia's Medvedev backs long-term "super currency"

MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for a widening of the reserve currency basket and repeated Russia's interest in a new global reserve currency, during an interview aired by the BBC on Sunday.

Russia has already proposed the creation of the new currency, to be issued by international financial institutions, according to the text of its proposal to the April G20 meeting published on March 16. [ID:nLG32185]

China this week caused a stir ahead of the G20 when it suggested the world move toward greater use of the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights, created by the Fund in 1969 as an international reserve asset.

"You know, I have just discussed this issue with Gordon Brown and other partners. Of course, we are realistic, and I hope that my position is realistic, as well as that of our Chinese colleagues," Medvedev told the BBC, referring to the British Prime Minister.

"But it is quite obvious that the existing currency system has not coped with the existing challenges. We were lucky to have a set of currencies: dollar, euro, and a pound. But in the future this system should be based upon a multi-currency basket, it should also include other regional reserve currencies."

"If we manage to agree on that, in the future we could talk about creating a kind of a super currency," Medvedev said.

Other G20 leaders have made clear that for now the dollar's status as the dominant reserve unit remains.

Russia supports expanding the IMF's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to include the rouble, the yuan and gold, but sees no chance of the G20 Summit accepting a new reserve currency, a Kremlin aide said separately on Saturday, news agencies reported. (Reporting by Conor Sweeney; Editing by Rupert Winchester)