Bush to visit St Petersburg ahead of G-8 summit

Moscow, June 8 (UNI) US President George W Bush will pay a working visit ahead of the summit of the leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialised countries, in St Petersburg, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will also represent India as an observer at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.

The summit is scheduled for July 15-17 under the rotating presidency of Russia, for the first time, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg, known as the cultural capital of the country.

''Mr Bush will stay at one of the cottages at the Kolpino camp, Mr Dmitry Peskov, who is the head of the press service of the summit's organising committee told reporters.

''The press centre will begin its work the day before the summit,'' he added.

Several global topical issues, including the security, energy, will be discussed during the summit.

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