Putin invites Harper to attend G8 summit

MOSCOW, February 6. Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Canada’s new Prime Minister Stephen Harper to attend the G8 summit in St. Petersburg.

President Putin has congratulated Stephen Harper on becoming Prime Minister of Canada, the Kremlin press service said.

“I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to attend the G8 summit, which will take place in St. Petersburg on July 15-17, 2006,” Putin’s message says.

The president noted the dynamic development of Russian-Canadian ties in every sphere.

“Our bilateral relations are developing dynamically in every sphere. I would like to point out that the solid foundation of Russian-Canadian cooperation was laid in the early 1990s, mostly due to the efforts of Brian Mulroney, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. I hope that Canada will continue to support joint projects and plans that have been charted over the years,” the message says.

Vladimir Putin wished Stephen Harper every success in his future work and expressed hope for “fruitful interaction in the interests of expanded Russian-Canadian partnership.”