SAINT PETERSBURG - Differences over Syria existed among all members of the Group of Eight (G8), not just between Russia and the U.S., Russian President Vladimir Putin told the 17th International Economic Forum here Friday. "All G8 members are self-sufficient states and their leaders are self-sufficient politicians on the global stage.

They have their own views on current problems, not only in Syria, but in other regions as well," he said. The Russian president also said it was not right to pit Moscow against Washington on all global affairs, possibly in response to recent remarks by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that the G8 actually was a Seven plus One group on Syria since Russia was the only country backing Bashar al-Assad's government.

Putin also said the opposition in Syria has been receiving arms from abroad for a long time. "We are not going to discuss the origin of these weapons, but it is clear that, without arms shipments, the situation in Syria would not have been what it is now," he said.

Putin also said the new international conference on Syria should be held as soon as possible. "We expressed our concern and confirmed our commitment to ceasing violence, creating conditions for resuming the political dialogue between the warring parties and convincing them to start talks as soon as possible," the president said. (Xinhua)