World leaders gather for party in St. Petersburg

A view of the Dvortsovy flap bridge, St. Isaac Cathedral (R) and the Admiralty Building (L) late Thursday in Saint Petersburg, during the celebrations marking the 300th anniversary of Russia's former imperial capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Saint Petersburg on Friday for a series of summits that will see him meet his US counterpart George W. Bush and most European leaders for the first time since the war in Iraq. Photo: AFP

It will be the first time all the key players in the bitter debate over the US-led Iraq invasion will be together since the war began in March.

The three-day celebrations in St. Petersburg -- its palaces and canals spruced up with a $1.5 billion renovation some critics say Russia can ill-afford -- comes just days before the world's seven largest industrial economies and Russia hold their annual G8 summit in France.

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Friday's arrivals in St. Petersburg include British Prime Minister Tony Blair, fresh from a trip to Iraq, and his main opponents over the war there -- French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Blair was the first Western leader to visit post-war Iraq, where he dismissed renewed controversy over the reasons for toppling the government of Saddam Hussein.