G-7 meet on Russia

FINANCE ministers from the Group of Seven nations will be looking for signs of renewed Russian commitment to a free-market economy when they meet Saturday. The G-7 nations are concerned with Russia's inflation rate and worsening budget deficit, says Henning Christophersen, economics chief of the European Union. At stake are the billions of dollars in assistance that Western nations and financial institutions have pledged to help Russia revamp its economy. The International Monetary Fund has imposed stiff economic conditions on Moscow before it will release the $1.5 billion in assistance.