The summit in Canada has opened

From the welcoming appeal of the Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chretien, as the owner of the meeting, at the Delta Lodge hotel in the Canadian mountain resort, Cananascus opened on Wednesday the leaders of the leading countries of the world. This was reported in the press service of the organizing committee of the summit.

The first meeting is traditionally held in the format of "seven" - with the participation of heads of states and governments of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the USA, France and Japan. According to the program, it will be devoted to discussing the issues of global economic development.

At about 21:00 Moscow time, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Canadian resort place Kananaskis to meet the heads of state and governments of the Big Eight countries.

He was already welcomed by Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien.

ITAR-TASS notes that the owner of the summit drew the attention of the Russian guest to the magnificent view of the mountains opening from the hotel. In turn, Vladimir Putin thanked for a friendly meeting on this beautiful sunny day.

In the very near future, the Kananaskis will officially begin to work the Summit of "Big Eight", RIA Novosti reports.

According to the press service of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Canada, the focus of the attention of the Eight summit will discuss the plan of assistance to the development of Africa, the fight against terrorism and strengthening the growth of the global economy.

At the Kalgary airport, Putin was presented with a wide -brimmed cowboy white hat

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the Canadian city of Kalgary. The presidential aircraft landed at the international airport of the city located in the province of Albert.

At the airport, the head of the Russian state was met by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Bill Graham, the organizers of the summit.

A honorary guard of the Guards of the Royal Canadian Cavalry Police was built at the ramp of an airplane in honor of the high Russian guest and the state hymns of Russia and Canada were performed.

The mayor of Calgary David Bronkonia gave Vladimir Putin a wide -brimmed cowboy white hat and declared him an honorary resident of the city.

From the airport, the Russian President left for the Kananaskis mountain resort village located 100 km from Kalgary, where the Great Eight summit has already begun.

The official greeting ceremony of Vladimir Putin Prime Minister Canada Jean Chretien will be held in Cananian. Then the official photographing of the heads of state and governments - participants of the "eight" will take place.

The first round of negotiations is dedicated to the fight against terrorism. In addition to participating in the workshops of the Summit "Big Eight, to date, Vladimir Putin has planned meetings with the Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair, Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien and President of France Jacques Shirak. At the end of the day, the president will answer questions from journalists.

Shirak refused to take a picture of memory in a white hat

Jacques Shiraku, like all the leaders of the "eight", also presented a cowboy hat. But the French president refused to take a picture in it as a keepsake.

According to the Canadian tradition, white cowboy hats are given only to the most honored guests. When the guest accepts the hat, this means that he will adhere to the customs of the Canadian West.

In Kalgary there is a special "White Hat Ceremony". According to her protocol, it is desirable that he received a gift, put on his hat on his head and published a victorious cry: "Yahuu!" However, if the gift was accepted by all the leaders of the "eight" arriving at the summit in Cananian, then only a few of them dared to a similar joyful exclamation.

Summit program

The summit participants, according to Illarionov, will consider three main issues: the fight against terrorism, strengthening sustainable economic growth and a plan for the promotion of Africa development. On the first day of the summit, its participants after the "family photo" will discuss the main part of the agenda issues.

When discussing the issue of combating terrorism, the leaders of the Eight, as expected, will consider the situation in Afghanistan, the problem of protection against possible terrorist actions in transport, the issue of preventing the financing of terrorists.

When considering the problems of ensuring sustainable economic growth, the participants in the summit, the adviser to the Russian president believes, focus on issues such as increasing labor productivity in developed countries, the safety of the mechanism of multilateral trade negotiations, and sustainable development in the countries of the Third World.

Illarionov did not exclude the likelihood of discussion and other issues of the leaders of the Eight, from oil prices and ensuring the world with energy resources to access to drinking water.

At a working dinner, participants in the summit may affect regional problems, in particular, the situation in Indo-Pakistani relations and the provisions in the Middle East.

On the second day of the summit in Cananian, African themes will be discussed with the participation of the UN Secretary General and the presidents of the five African countries.

As the Ambassador of Canada said to Moscow, Rodney Irvin, "Russia will take part in all discussions at the summit, with the exception of the session of the G7 leaders following the meeting of the Ministers of Finance" Seven ".

Features of the summit

Rodney Irwin said that the current “Big Eight” summit in Cananian will differ from a series of previous similar meetings with smaller pomp. "This difference should be attributed to the desire of the Prime Minister of Canada Chretien and the leaders of other" eight countries "to return to solitary meetings at the tops focused on certain issues that allow discussing important problems that affect their countries," Irwin said.

Kananaskis, according to the ambassador, is great for this. "This is a beautiful place located far from the large industrial center of Kalgary, in which there are all conceivable conditions so that the leaders can spend as much time as possible in discussions," Irwin said. The ambassador emphasized that the summit schedule is very tense, and "it does not have time for an informal program and even meals will be workers."

Due to the ten-hour difference in time, the main events of the summit will be held when there will be night in Moscow.

G8 leaders arrived at the summit in Canada without wives. According to the representative of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Canada Duncan Fulton, the absence of the leaders of the leading powers of the world in Kananasky is not explained by anxiety about ensuring their safety, but is associated with the timing of the summit and the regime of its work.

The summit will last only 2 days, more precisely 30 hours, and the leaders of the G8 member countries will be busy almost all the time.

The summit takes place in the outback

The decision of the Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretin to hold a summit in such a provincial place seems to be almost visible, BBC notes. The fact is that the prime ministers and presidents in Kansanaxis are much easier to protect not only and not so much from anti-globalists as from al-Qaeda people. Meanwhile, given even such a significant reduction in costs, the Canadian authorities spent 325 million dollars to ensure the strictest security measures.

Relations between Russia and the USA on the eve of the summit

Recently, the relations of Moscow and Washington have been almost perfect from the outside. According to BBC, the presidents of Bush and Putin established good personal contact. In addition, a significant part - although not all - the American political elite perceives Russia as an ally and partner, albeit limited in funds and opportunities.

In turn, in the spring, the mouth of the Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov made it clear that she would not interfere with the American campaign against Baghdad. According to diplomatic sources, Moscow achieved from the Bush administration promises to take into account the interests of Russian oil companies in Iraq in the event of a change in the regime.

Finally, Putin in Washington is considered perhaps the hardest supporter of the war with terrorism. However, on the eve of the meeting of the "Big Eight", the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry made a proposal to make the UN Security Council the main coordinating body in the war with terrorism, BBC reports.

Whether it was an initiative of the Foreign Ministry, where many are wary of the new course of President Putin, or is it a new official position of the Kremlin, will become clear in the coming days. However, it is already clear that the United States will not like this idea.

In Washington, the UN is considered a forum where anti -American sentiments dominate. However, while the alignment of the forces on the eve of the summit in Kansanaxis looks paradoxical - the presidents of Russia and America arrive in Canada not only by personal friends, but also by allies.