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russian prez becomes video blogger

Dmitry Medvedev spoke about his upcoming address to the World Policy Conference in Evian in his first video address to the site's visitors

President Dmitry Medvedev has never been shy about showing off his Internet savvy, having spoken publicly about social networking sites and offering words of support for Russian web slang.

Now the president will be regularly addressing citizens in a new "video blog" section launched Tuesday on the Kremlin's web site.

"I'm using this means of communication for the first time," a serious Medvedev, apparently sitting at his Kremlin desk, told viewers in Tuesday's inaugural video. "I wanted to speak about some pressing problems the world is facing today."

In the two-minute clip, Medvedev, flanked by two large monitors, called for joint action on the global financial crisis and said he would push for support of a new European security treaty at an international conference Wednesday in Evian, France.

The events in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Georgia and elsewhere have demonstrated that the present security system is "extremely ineffective," Medvedev explained, calling for discussion of a new security system stretching from "Vancouver to Vladivostok."

"It is absolutely clear that the time has come for new solutions," Medvedev said.

Medvedev, who portrays himself as an avid Internet user, plans to use the new video section to regularly address citizens, a Kremlin spokesman said Tuesday, referring to the planned videos as "podcasts." ~ read more