The annual summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations - the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Canada, Russia, France, Germany and Japan will be held on July 7-9 to discuss the world economy, environmental concerns, African development and other pressing issues.
As part of the G8 summit, Medvedev is to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.
At a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Medvedev is expected to discuss security, U.S. missile shield plans for Europe, trade and energy issues, presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said on the eve of the summit.
"Of all the issues, which the presidents are expected to discuss, I would like to single out security and strategic stability. This is the traditional sphere where our countries, by virtue of well-known reasons, bear special responsibility before the international community," Prikhodko said.
According to the presidential aide, the Russian and U.S. leaders are expected to discuss joint efforts in the struggle against international terrorism, the spread of mass destruction weapons and in solving key regional problems, for example, in the Middle East, Afghanistan, the Korean peninsula and the Iran nuclear program.
At a meeting with the Japanese leader, the Russian president is to discuss conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries, as well as trade and economic relations, Prikhodko said.
A dispute over the South Kuril Islands, known in Japan as the Northern Territories, which were annexed by the Soviet Union after World War II, has prevented the two countries from signing a peace deal. The absence of a peace treaty between the two countries has restricted trade and economic relations between Russia and Japan.
