St. Petersburg: On the Russia-leg of his 3-nation tour beginning on May 30, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is scheduled to hold informal summits with Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Russian President Vladimir Putin's hometown St. Petersburg.

A bilateral informal summit with Putin is also being scheduled to exchange notes on Indo-Russian relations and key issues like Iraq, Afghanistan and anti-terror combat.

Vajpayee is among the 41 world leaders specially invited by Putin to attend the 2-day gala celebrations of the 300th anniversary of Russia's former imperial capital St. Petersburg, mostly known as Petrograd and Leningrad in the 20th century.

"The very fact, that Prime Minister Vajpayee has been invited to attend the gala event of world's most powerful leaders, is a reflection of our political linkage," a senior Indian diplomat said.

President Putin's guest list can also give the idea of modern Russia's foreign policy priorities, which include closer partnership within G-8 member states, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), European Union (EU) and Asian giants - India and China.

On the sidelines of the centenary celebrations of St Petersburg, separate CIS and EU-Russia summits are also planned on May 30-31.

PTI