Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will represent Russia at the G8 summit in the U.S. on May 18-19, acting presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said on Thursday.
President Vladimir Putin will stay in Russia in order to hold consultations with candidates for ministerial posts. Medvedev will soon present to Putin proposals on formation of the new government. “The prime minister should, within a few days of his appointment, submit his proposals on the formation of the government … Then the president will need to consider these proposals carefully, and he will do that,” Dvorkovich said.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he understood Putin’s decision not to attend the summit and welcomed Medvedev’s participation.
Medvedev, despite no longer being the head of state, will be a full-fledged participant in the summit, Dvorkovich said. “I think that there will be a constructive and detailed review of all matters on the summit agenda. Dmitry is familiar with them. He worked as the president of Russia for four years, and was involved with all these topics, so there will be no problem,” Dvorkovich said.
“He will be discussing many issues, including the situation in Syria, Iran, North Korea and Europe as a full participant of the summit,” Dvorkovich added.
The G8 summit will be held at Camp David, the U.S. presidential country residence, on May 18-19.