Russia backs call for G8 anti-crisis summit: reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia backed a French proposal for an emergency summit of the Group of Eight nations and urged the inclusion of emerging economies to help tackle the global financial crisis, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Dortmund Germany, after a meeting with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said President Dmitry Medvedev supported the French call for an emergency summit, Russian agencies said.

"We have agreed on the need for a high-level forum which would go beyond the classic Group of Eight, and believe that the forum should be duly prepared, but should not be put off," RIA Novosti quoted Lavrov as saying.

The G8 is composed of the United States, Canada, Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Russia.

Lavrov said China, Brazil, India, South Africa and Mexico should also attend, in an echo of a proposal by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, RIA said.

He said informal talks with Steinmeier suggested the German side "shared the same approach" of expanding the forum.

Russian officials met leaders of the G7 in Washington on Friday and Saturday to discuss anti-crisis measures. Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said his country would play a significant role in talks on the crisis.

(Reporting by Melissa Akin; Editing by Matthew Jones)