Russia Pledges $10 Billion in Eurozone Aid

 　　Russia says it is ready to commit more than $10 billion to the International Monetary¹ Fund to help support the struggling eurozone economy.

　　President Dmitry Medvedev made the pledge Thursday in Brussels during the biannual² EU-Russia summit. "We will abide³ by all the commitments being the participant of the International Monetary Fund, and we are ready to invest the necessary financial means to back the European economy and the euro zone. We are ready to look at and consider other measures of support," he said.

　　His economic adviser⁴, Arkady Dvorkovich, earlier said $10 billion would be the minimum commitment Russia would make.  The offer follows last week's summit of European leaders in which nearly all EU countries pledged up to $200 billion in funds and loans to the IMF rescue fund.

　　Mr. Medvedev says 41 percent of Russia's currency reserves are invested in euros, and that Russia is interested in seeing the European Union preserved as a powerful economic and political force.

　　"Only Europe will be able to help Europe, but other countries should provide conditions for Europe to liberate⁵ itself from the crisis burdens as soon as possible and recover from this downturn as soon as possible," he said.

　　Thursday's summit gathered EU President Herman Van Rompuy, EU Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso and Mr. Medvedev, among other officials, and comes just days after Russia's much criticized parliamentary elections.

　　At a news conference after the summit, Van Rompuy criticized the vote, saying the EU is concerned about irregularities, but he welcomed Russia's pledge to monitor future polls.

　　On Friday, the World Trade Organization is set to approve Russia as a member, after 18 years of trying to join.

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 biannual   

adj.一年两次的

参考例句：

• I have to make a biannual report next Monday.下周一我得作半年度报告。
• Our school doctor recommends a biannual visit to the dentist.我们校医建议一年去看牙医两次。

3 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 liberate   

v.解放，使获得自由，释出，放出；vt.解放，使获自由

参考例句：

• They did their best to liberate slaves.他们尽最大能力去解放奴隶。
• This will liberate him from economic worry.这将消除他经济上的忧虑。