By Gleb Bryanski and Elena Fabrichnaya

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia has the potential to improve its position in global AI ratings by 2030 despite Western sanctions thanks to talented developers and its own generative AI models, the first deputy CEO of Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, told Reuters.

Some AI developers left Russia in recent years, especially fleeing a mobilisation drive for the Ukraine conflict in 2022, but Alexander Vedyakhin said people were returning home, lured by the new opportunities, and he said it was vital to keep encouraging experimentation in the sector.

Russia lags the United States and China, the world's leading AI pioneers, by six to nine months on a range of parameters but that could quickly change, he said.

"I am confident that Russia can significantly improve its current positions in international rankings by 2030 through its own developments and supportive regulation in the field of generative AI," said Vedyakhin, whose bank is spearheading AI development in Russia.

"(Western) sanctions were aimed at limiting Russia's computing power, but we are trying to compensate for the shortage with our talented scientists and engineers," he said in the interview, authorised for publication on Thursday.

Russia currently ranks 31st of 83 countries for AI implementation, innovation and investment on UK-based Tortoise Media's Global AI Index, well behind not only the United States and China but also fellow BRICS members India and Brazil.

Speaking on Wednesday at Sberbank's annual AI Journey conference, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would develop AI with its BRICS partners and other countries, in a bid to challenge U.S. dominance in one of the most promising technologies of the 21st century.

Vedyakhin said Russia would not compete with the U.S. and China in building giant data centres, but would focus on developing smart AI models similar to Meta's Large Language Model Meta AI, known as Llama.

Large language models (LLM) mine vast amounts of text in order to summarise information and generate content. They can answer questions, for instance, with sentences that can read as though written by humans.

'HERRING UNDER A FUR COAT'

Vedyakhin said Russian language generative AI models would guarantee the country's technological sovereignty.

"I believe that any country that sees itself as independent on the world stage should have its own large language model," Vedyakhin said. Russia is among 10 countries, which are developing their own national generative AI models.