Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in Washington and will immediately leave for Camp David, where he will take part in a G8 summit, his press pool reported.
Medvedev is attending the summit in Maryland instead of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who withdrew from participation last week, citing the need to finalize a new government after his inauguration last week.
During the two-day summit, which will begin later in the day, Russia will push for finalizing an agreement on greenhouse gases and a discussion on global terrorism, the Russian government said.
Topics currently scheduled for discussion at Camp David include Syria, Iran and North Korea, global food safety, non-proliferation, environment and recovering the global economy after the last recession.
Vadim Lukov, Russia’s G8 sous-sherpa, said Afghanistan was also on the agenda.
Medvedev’s aide Arkady Dvorkovich said the issue of European missile defense was not included in the official agenda, but could be discussed on its sidelines of the summit.
Medvedev will hold several bilateral meetings at Camp David, including talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.