Fridman Touts Alfa To Kremlin

President Dmitry Medvedev met with Alfa Group co-owner Mikhail Fridman in the Kremlin on Tuesday, a day after voicing criticism that was seen as directed at the group's bank. An account of the meeting on the Kremlin web site did not say whether they discussed Medvedev's comments Monday, which blasted banks for being excessively tough on companies trying to restructure debt. Fridman used the meeting to say Alfa Group, which includes Alfa Bank, was a major employer and to highlight the good its other units have done. The day before, Medvedev told the government to make sure that banks don't ruin large employers, even if they default on loans. Rising unemployment is a major concern for the authorities. Alfa Bank is suing several units of Basic Element, Oleg Deripaska's holding company, for overdue loan payments. BasEl units have said the litigation might stall their operations. Fridman said Alfa Group employed 250,000 people and has worked to avoid layoffs by continuing investments, including at TNK-BP's two new oil fields that came on line last month, creating thousands of jobs. Fridman also said Alfa-controlled X5 Retail Group had opened dozens of new stores this year. A Kremlin spokeswoman declined to provide any further information. An Alfa spokeswoman said she didn't know whether they discussed overdue loans.