World leaders have arrived in Europe for five days of intense discussions on the new world order.

EU leaders have gathered in St Petersburg for a summit aimed at tackling immigration, the environment and human rights.

Tony Blair arrived at the meeting on Friday - which comes ahead of a gathering of G8 leaders in France early next week.

Following his recent Iraq visit, Blair held talks in Poland before heading to the summit.

During his visit he called on the Polish people to back EU membership in the country's forthcoming referendum.

The gathering is just one of a series in an intense round of global diplomatic negotiations

President Bush jetted into "New Europe" last night where he set out his plans for the next phase in diplomatic relations.

After visiting Poland, where he thanked its government for its support in the war, the president headed for a half-day meeting with Putin on the eve of the G8 summit in Evian.

The top-level gatherings will be watched closely to assess whether the fall out over Iraq has had a lasting effect on the dynamics of global diplomacy.

In St Petersburg leaders will be hoping to show a united front following divisions over key international events.

But the issue of abolishing travel visas for Russians entering the EU is overshadowing the one-day meeting between European leaders.

The last gathering between EU heads and President Putin, held last November, was marred by a row over human rights abuses in Chechnya.

But a draft protocol to be agreed this weekend will commit Russia to securing a lasting peace and allowing humanitarian assistance to enter the war-torn state.

Russia wants freedom for its citizens to travel within the EU by 2007, although the European Commission is hesitant about setting such a date.

It will also call for a special status in relation to the EU: similar to that it now shares with NATO.

EU leaders are expressing reservations about moves to link the scrapping of the EU entry visa with an earlier agreement on the readmission of illegal immigrants.

A commission spokesman said agreement on a date should be withheld until there are "clear prospects for resolving the current problems".

EU leaders are also expressing strong reservations about the slow pace of environmental reform in Russia. The EU is set to demand that Russia ratifies the Kyoto protocol at the earliest opportunity.

The commission is pressing Moscow to ratify the treaty through the Duma by September - which would coincide with the world climate change conference in Russia.

It is also upping the pressure on Putin to deliver a greater emphasis on nuclear safety.

For its part Russia is seeking to block moves to extend its partnership and cooperation agreement to the 10 new EU accession states.

Moscow has expressed reservations about the decision to allow the governments of the 10 accession states, the majority of which are former members of the Soviet Bloc, to attend this weekend's summit.

The Russian government believes its economy stands to lose out as a result of the enlargement process.

It will also seek to ensure its reservations about the process of expanding the EU into Eastern Europe are recorded in the joint statement to be agreed between leaders on Saturday.

On Sunday the focus is shifting to Evian in France where the G8 heads will gather.

President Bush is expected to use the meeting to press the case for fresh moves to combat the spreads of Aids in Africa.

The current state of the war on terrorism, the Doha trade round and the current global economic instability are also set to dominate the meeting of the world's richest nations.

Bush will use the visit to make the case for his global agenda and is also expected to hold bilateral discussions with the new Chinese president Hu Jintao.

And again the theme of the event will be solidarity: but with disagreement over trade and the fall-out from the collapse of the dollar still ringing in the world's ears that harmony may prove difficult to achieve.