On June 6, Dmitry Medvedev presided over his first major multinational meetings since replacing Vladimir Putin as Russia's president on May 7. The first gathering involved an "informal" summit of the heads of state of the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The second was the annual meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which attracts many foreign diplomats and business executives. At the meetings, Medvedev eschewed the sarcastic and at times menacing rhetoric of his predecessor. He also seemed slightly more open to resolving Russia's differences with Georgia. Yet, Medvedev reaffirmed Putin's hard-line position regarding NATO expansion and echoed his predecessor's complaints about Washington's allegedly excessive and unwarranted influence on world affairs. One of the functions of the CIS summits is to provide the leaders of the 12 member governments with opportunities to engage in one-on-one discussions on the sidelines. The most recent gathering -- held at the Konstantin Palace in Strelna, on the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg -- saw important bilateral talks between Medvedev and other CIS members.
Medvedev Reasserts Russian Leadership at St. Petersburg Summits
