MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - The Group of Eight industrialized nations should regard Russia as a partner sharing Western values but prepared to defend its positions, an aide to the Russian president said Tuesday.
Igor Shuvalov, Russia's representative to G8, reiterated Russia's adherence to commonly accepted principles in the face of recent international criticism.
"We share Western values... but consider it a crime to keep silent on a number of issues and will convince the international community that we know what is more correct," he said.
The aide called for international recognition of Russia as a partner after the G8 leaders meet in St. Petersburg.
"The main political event of the summit should be that after the summit... Russia should be viewed as a difficult partner who in the final analysis shares all our [Western] values," he said.
Shuvalov added that Russia had "its own vision of European and global problems."
