Russia too backs India for G8

ST PETERSBURG: President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said Russia would back India joining the G8, along with China and Brazil, if Moscow's partners in the club of most industrialised countries raised this issue “in a practical context.”

“If our partners find it possible to address this issue practically, we will of course back this idea,” he told journalists at a press  briefing.

“It would be difficult to solve economic, financial and energy issues effectively without the fast-growing Chinese and Indian economies,” he said.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Tony Blair had said he would press for the extension of G8 to G13 by including India, China, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.

The first session of the G8 summit opened in Strelna near St Petersburg on Sunday. The leaders of Russia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the US, France and Japan, as well as the president of the European Commission and the Prime Minister of Finland were attending the meeting. International energy security, the fight against infectious diseases and education are slated to be key topics at the summit.