ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) major industrial powers started their annual summit on Saturday in St. Petersburg as spiraling violence in the Middle East drew global concern.

    Tensions between Israel and Lebanon have been drastically heightened since Wednesday when Hezbollah militants kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a border clash with Israeli troops.

    In response, Israel waged air raids on Lebanese targets and blockaded Lebanese sea ports.

    The situation in Lebanon was a last-minute addition to the agenda of the summit, which is dominated by energy security, education and fighting infectious diseases.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush earlier in the day, called for an end to the violence at a press conference with Bush following their talks.

    "In any case, bloodshed should stop as soon as possible," Putin said. "Escalation of violence, in our opinion, will not yield positive results," he added.

    Bush, speaking on the same occasion, however blamed Hezbollah for the escalation of violence.

    "The best way to stop the violence is for Hezbollah to lay down its arms, and to stop attacking. And, therefore, I call upon Syriato exert influence over Hezbollah," Bush said.

    Russia and the United States are members of the international Quartet mediating for peace in the Middle East. The Quartet also includes the United Nations and the European Union (EU).

    Putin, whose country is chairing the G8 presidency for the first time, threw a lavish dinner to entertain G8 leaders before they start their discussions in earnest on Sunday when they are expected to grapple with energy security, the top priority set by Russia -- the world's second largest oil exporter following Saudi Arabia and the custodian of the No. 1 natural gas reserve in the world.

    Russia provides about a quarter of the gas consumed in the EU. Europe jittered in the midst of a gas dispute between Russia and neighboring Ukraine that caused brief disruption of gas supplies to Europe at the start of this year.

    But Putin and other Russian officials have been quick to portray Russia as a credible energy supplier.

    The group, which gathers Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, holds annual summits where economic themes are supposed to prevail but often overshadowed by events of the day.

    The G8 leaders are due to meet leaders from China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Kazakhstan and the Republic of Congo on Monday for the outreach session to discuss energy security, prevention and control of epidemic diseases, education, African development and other topics. Enditem