Moscow - Russia hopes that the upcoming G8 summit in Japan will lead to better relations with Britain and the US, the Foreign Ministry said in Moscow Wednesday.

The first meeting between the new Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown would be a "positive signal of normalization of the relationship."

With US President George W Bush Medvedev would discuss above all economic issues and strategic security and the planned entrance of Russia into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Japanese island of Toyako, Japan is the venue for the July 7-9 G8 summit. The G8 groups the world's seven biggest economies and Russia. High on the agenda will be the US financial crisis, high oil prices and the world food crisis. (dpa)