"We are not going to limit our economic growth. We need to pass along the same path as all countries. First a rise (in emissions) and then a fall," the Kremlin's top advisor on climate Alexander Bedritsky told reporters.

His comments came ahead of President Dmitry Medvedev's attendance at the climax of the Copenhagen conference on climate change from 17-18 December.

Bedritsky reaffirmed that Russia is ready to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 by a maximum of 25 percent compared with 1990, so long as this is part of a global agreement on emissions.

But Russia's critics note this target actually represents an increase of 13 percent from 2007 as Russian emissions fell sharply when the industrial sector collapsed after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

However officials have long said this is entirely normal given the economy has had to recover from major financial shocks in 1991 and 1998, when the economy went into meltdown as the government defaulted on debt.

Bedritsky argued that Russia's GDP had grown by a total of 5 percent from 1990 while on a comparative basis its emissions had fallen 34 percent over the same period.

"We cannot set ourselves the ambition to have weak Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Perhaps the countries that are ahead of us should do more," he said.

Vladimir Chuprov, the head of the energy programme for Greenpeace Russia, said the main problem with the Russian position was not the targets but the fact they were conditional on a global accord being reached.

"This position for the 25 percent reduction by 2020 is Russia's traditional position. But it's conditional on a global accord which basically means that it must involve the United States."

"A number of countries -- Australia, Canada, Japan as well as Russia -- are hiding behind the United States in this way," he said.

Chuprov said Greenpeace called on Medvedev to show his leadership by not making the Russian targets conditional.

"He must show the example and Russia must be a leader," he said.

The Copenhagen meeting, which began on Monday, brings together 192 countries in an effort to negotiate a global deal to slash the emissions and ease the impact of climate change before the 2012 expiry of the Kyoto Protocol.

December 18 is the final day of the conference which is also expected to be attended by US President Barack Obama.

Medvedev's powerful predecessor in the Kremlin, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had also said last month any new global warming pact must take into account the carbon dioxide absorption potential of Russia's sprawling forests.

The demand spells out a position previously adopted by Moscow under the Kyoto Protocol, when Russia and other countries demanded big concessions on forestry in 2001 when Kyoto's complex rulebook was being negotiated.

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