Russian democracy and trade in focus as G8 starts

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Saturday (Reuters)

U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian leader Vladimir Putin meet ahead of a G8 summit on Saturday, with Moscow trying to clinch a trade deal and Washington planning to warn it on democracy.

The bilateral talks, following a more casual barbecue get-together between the two men on Friday night, will set the tone for the weekend summit at which Middle East violence and the standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions will also loom large. The annual meeting of the Group of Eight industrialised nations has in the past attracted anti-globalisation protests, but tight restrictions and heavy policing have kept all but a few hundred activists away from Russia's second city.

Energy security tops the summit's formal agenda and - once Bush and Putin are joined by leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Britain, Canada and Japan later in the day - the eight could seek to send a signal to calm volatile oil markets.

Bush signalled his intent to put democracy centre stage when he arrived on Friday, telling beleaguered Russian rights activists he would relay their concerns to Putin. But he also said he would raise those concerns privately.

Putin's critics accuse him of rolling back the democratic reforms of the 1990s.

The former KGB spy says the country he leads, a top oil and gas exporter with a booming economy, is a far cry from the chaotic nation that defaulted on its debts in the decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Russian leader's main hope for the summit is to display his nation's new-found self confidence.

The setting in a lavishly restored 18th century palace that looks out onto the Gulf of Finland merely underscores that revival.

The Kremlin is also keen to see a deal with the United States on Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), although officials are also careful not to build up expectations following three days of negotiations in Moscow.