Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in the northern German city Rostock Wednesday afternoon to attend his last summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations.

The three-day G8 summit is due to open Wednesday evening in the German Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, 25 km north of Rostock, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosting an informal dinner for participants.

After landing at Rostock-Laage airport, Blair went by helicopter to Heiligendamm, which has been sealed off by police officers.

The G8 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Following the Labour Party's humiliating loss in the recent local and regional elections, Blair announced on May 10 that he would resign on June 27.

Before departing for Heiligendamm, Blair Wednesday issued a stern warning to Russia that Europe could start cutting business ties with it if President Vladimir Putin abandoned "shared values."

His remarks came two days after Putin threatened a Russian retaliation if the U.S. plan to deploy a missile defense shield in Central Europe went ahead.

"I have good relations with President Putin. We want good relations with Russia," he told British Members of Parliament. "But that can only be done on the basis that there are certain shared principles and shared values."

"The consequence if there aren't (shared values) -- there is no point in making hollow threats against Russia -- is that people in Europe will want to minimize the business they do with Russia if that happens."

Blair is scheduled to talk face-to-face with Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush separately in Heiligendamm.

Bush said Wednesday in Heiligendamm that no military response is necessary to Russia's threats to re-target Europe if the U.S. continues with its missile defense plan in Central Europe.

"Russia is not an enemy," Bush told reporters. "There needs to be no military response because we're not at war with Russia. Russia is not a threat. Nor is the missile defense system we're proposing a threat to Russia."

Washington is planning to place a radar system in the Czech Republic and deploy 10 interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland in the name of defending against possible attacks from Iran.

Russia has accused Washington of raising a new arms race in the region which Washington denies.

Source: Xinhua