European press review

The G8 summit of the world's most developed nations - and Russia - dominates as the top international story in all the European dailies.

Russian newspapers give the country a pat on the back for becoming a fully-fledged member of the club.

The rest of the continent's press has a few doubts about Mr Putin's democratic credentials, and about Russia's stability and prosperity.

The benefits of Russia's role in the war against terror are also discussed.

Weapons commitment

The German Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) says that the Russian president's offer of support to America in its battle against terrorism is "paying off handsomely".

Excellent play of a rather poor hand

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

President Vladimir Putin, it says, "has every reason to congratulate himself... on his excellent play of a rather poor hand".

The biggest concrete gain is the western nations' commitment to spend $20bn on preventing Russian weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of terrorists.

With so much money - and lives - at stake, Izvestiya expects "difficult" negotiations ahead.

The possible hitch concerns verification, it explains: Washington is concerned about how the money will be spent, and Moscow is worried about revealing military secrets.

Big surprise

The Czech Lidove Noviny sees Russia's new status as a fully-fledged G8 member as the summit's "biggest surprise".

Without China the world cannot put its political house in order

Die Welt

"While up to now Putin only joined in political talks," it notes, "in future he will also sit at the table when economic issues are on the agenda."

In Moscow, popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets is also taken aback, calling the news that Russia is to host a meeting of the group in 2006 "almost sensational".

FAZ sees "something contrived" about Moscow's full membership of a group meant to steer the global economy.

It says that Russia's small share of the world economy means that "other interested parties... are also entitled to demand a say."

One such party, chimes in Hamburg's Die Welt, is China.

If the new purpose of the G8 is to help fight the war on terrorism, the paper says, "then it must become a G9 - China should be included".

"Without China," it adds, "the world cannot put its political house in order."

Symbolic gesture

It would seem that the West's wishes are running somewhat ahead of developments

Sme

Also in Germany, the Frankfurter Rundschau says that making Russian a full member of the G8 "sounds good, but means little".

This mainly symbolic action, it says, "honours Putin's good behaviour in his relations with the other seven".

Russia, the paper believes, may have made economic advances thanks to the high prices of raw materials, but not in terms of democracy.

Only someone with "impaired vision", it stresses, would "see democratic progress in the subjugation of parliament, in systematically bringing the mass media to heel, in the continuation of the Chechen war of extermination".

Slovakia's Sme says that President Putin "seems to have become a boon to a West that views him more and more as a guarantee of stability".

But "whether Russia is indeed a stable and prosperous market democracy", the paper adds, "is a different matter altogether".

"It would seem that the West's wishes are running somewhat ahead of developments", the paper notes.

In terms of its effectiveness, the present 'Eight' is of greater value than the old 'Seven'

Komsomolskaya Pravda

In Moscow, Nezavisimaya Gazeta disagrees, declaring that Russia has earned its seat at the globe's top table.

"Russia, which has long been referring to the 'Eight' as the 'Eight', has won the right to drop the inverted commas," the heavyweight broadsheet writes.

A role to play

Russia's mass-circulation Komsomolskaya Pravda admits that Russia may not match the other members of the group economically.

However, it says that Russia remains "the most authoritative world expert" in the battle against "Binladenism".

"Thus, in terms of its effectiveness, the present 'Eight' is of greater value than the old 'Seven'," it says.

Slovakia's Sme agrees that the G8 benefits from Russia's membership.

"The world's rich countries... have to tackle matters in which cooperation with Russia is inevitable", it says, highlighting security issues in the former Soviet Union.

The paper notes that no-one wants to see "new Bin Laden-type demons emerging from the former bastion of the red bear".

The European press review is compiled by BBC Monitoring from internet editions of the main European newspapers and some early printed editions.