Russia wants "normal, good" investment climate

By Janet McBride

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow would do its best to improve the climate for foreign investors and protect their property rights following sharp falls in Russian markets.

Russian stocks have plunged and the rouble has come under heavy pressure from nervous investors since Moscow sent its troops into Georgia last month to repel an attempt by Tbilisi to take back two pro-Russian separatist regions.

"Seventy-five percent of the fall in market indexes is the consequence of the international financial crisis, while 25 percent is from our domestic problems including the consequences of the war in the Caucasus," Medvedev told a meeting of the Valdai Club, a panel of foreign experts specialising in Russia.

"Of course we have no plans to create problems for investment cooperation with the West, and our Asian partners," Medvedev added. "On the contrary, we did and will do everything to have a normal, good investment climate in Russia."

The Kremlin leader said that protection of property rights -- one of his key pledges when taking office in May -- was an essential part of this.

"We only now start realising how important it is for us to ensure a comprehensive protection of property of both Russian citizens and foreign investors," he said.

Investors say a government attack on a New York-listed coal producer Mechel and suspicions of a Kremlin hand in a row between Russian and British owners of TNK-BP oil company have cast a shadow over the investment climate in Russia, in addition to the Georgia conflict.

Medvedev played down the importance of the market falls.