Russia in favour of fair rotation of IMF MD's post

Deauville (France), May 26: Russia favours a candidate from BRICS nations, saying a fairer rotation of the post of the IMF Managing Director is needed to match curent realities, a top diplomat has said.

An unwritten law under which the position of the Managing Director of the fund always goes over to West-Europeans does not match the realities of our times, the Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Orlov has said.

"The International Monetary Fund is an international organization and, quite possibly, time has come to consider a fairer rotation principle for the position," he said on the sidelines of the G8 summit here.

"Why not elect a representatives of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) to the post?" he asked.

At this moment, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is viewed as one of the favourites in the race for the IMF's top position.

She officially nominated her own candidature earlier yesterday with due support from President Nicolas Sarkozy and Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

"Russia treats Madame Lagarde in an exclusively positive spirit, since she is playing a crucial role in the development of economic relations between France and Russia," Orlov said.

PTI (Itar-Tass)