BRIC draft communique does not mention dollar - sources

By Gleb Bryanski and Guy Faulconbridge

YEKATERINBURG, Russia (Reuters) - The draft communique of Brazil, Russia, India and China does not mention the role of U.S. dollar or a supranational reserve currency, sources with knowledge of the document told Reuters on Tuesday.

The sources said the draft communique calls for a "diversified, stable and predictable currency system" as well as for a bigger role by emerging economies in international financial institutions. The communique is yet to be signed by BRIC leaders.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, known as BRIC, are seeking to use their economic clout to get a bigger say in how the world's financial system is run.

In a run-up to the summit, Russia said reserve currencies will be discussed at the meeting but China -- which holds nearly $2 trillion in foreign currency reserves -- was silent, indicating little unity on any potential challenge to the greenback.

"The existing set of reserve currencies, including the U.S. dollar, have failed to perform their functions," President Dmitry Medvedev told a news conference in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, ahead of the BRIC summit.

"We will not do without additional reserve currencies," Medvedev said, adding that a new supranational reserve currency was also an option as the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) gained a bigger role.

The U.S. dollar slid on Tuesday on the Russian comments, which came a day after Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the dollar's status as the world's main reserve currency would unlikely change in the near term.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has remained silent on the Kremlin's currency ideas which could ultimately indicate more about the divisions of the BRIC club rather than its strength.