Piggybacking on Britain Prime Minister Tony Blair’s comments on including India and China in G8, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would back such an expansion but also include Brazil. He said it would be difficult to solve international financial, energy, and security problems without involving India, China and Brazil.

The G8 is a grouping of the world’s most industrialized nations and is meeting in historic St Petersburg this week. The grouping of the world's eight richest nations includes Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the United States, France, Japan, and Russia. The leadership is rotating and Russia is the current President of the grouping.

The European Commission Chairman and the Prime Minister of Finland are also attending the summit at which international energy, security, the fight against infectious diseases, and education are expected to be key topics.

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