British Prime Minister Tony Blair won backing from Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday for plans to put poverty relief in Africa and global climate change at the center of the agenda for the Group of Eight nations.

"We fully support the ideas put forward by the U.K. and the prime minister," Putin said Monday after talks with Blair at the Russian leader's dacha outside Moscow. "There is a real prospect for progress on Africa and climate change" at the G-8 summit in Scotland on July 6 to 8, Blair said.

Blair is seeking support for plans to double aid payments to Africa to a total of US$50 billion by 2015 and to erase the debts of the world's poorest nations. He also wants industrial nations to step up commitments to cut pollution blamed for global warming.

Monday's discussions also included questions about Russia's commitment to democracy and free markets after Putin's government jailed billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky on fraud charges.

Putin's comments on Blair's plan for the G-8 suggest he will stick with commitments to cut pollution blamed for global warming. Russia in November ratified the Kyoto Protocol, mandating industrial nations cut emissions 5.2 percent from 1990 levels by 2012, though Putin's staff has suggested the nation will withdraw from the accord if it slows economic growth

Source: Xinhua/Shenzhen Daily