Cannes, France - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday said he will "speak the same language" as European Union leaders when they attend a summit of the world's 20 greatest powers in Washington.

"Our stance on how the (world) financial architecture should look in the future corresponds ... I believe that tomorrow night in Washington we'll speak the same language. It's obvious," Medvedev told EU and Russian businessmen in the French resort of Cannes.

On Friday, the Russian leader is set to hold talks in Nice, France, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, current holder of the EU's rotating presidency. The Washington summit on the financial crisis is expected to be high on the agenda.

And Medvedev said that his government had worked out an eight- point plan to present to world leaders as Russia's contribution to global financial reform.

The plan involves a streamlined system of international financial regulation; more transparent oversight of public companies; reinforced oversight of financial markets; and better risk management.

It also calls for an "early-warning system" for future crises, a lifting of barriers on international trade, and a better balance in the global issuing of financial instruments and investments, he said.

The plan chimes very largely with a set of four principles outlined by EU leaders at a summit on Friday, which called for better regulation, transparency, crisis prevention and the strengthening of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

However, in his speech Medvedev also struck a discordant note, saying that the World Trade Organization (WTO) - which EU states want Russia to join - does not work properly.

"We can talk at length about the reasons for foot-dragging, but one reason is that the organization itself, its working methods and legal framework are not adapted well enough to the possibility of new members joining," he said.

"The dilemma is whether we need to join or not. I think we should, but we should do this on normal terms, not humiliating terms," he said.

In particular, any procedure to join the trade organization should take into account "the existence of new financial centres and regional currencies," Medvedev said.

Russia intends to pass laws by the end of the year to lay the foundations for a global financial centre in the country, and would like to see its currency, the ruble, develop as a global currency, he said.

Russia is the only major world economy not to belong to the WTO, but in recent months Medvedev's predecessor as president, current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, has cast doubt on whether or not it would be in Russia's interest to join. (dpa)