Leaders from the Group of Seven plus the Russian Prime Minister are sitting around a...

Leaders from the Group of Seven plus the Russian Prime Minister are sitting around a dining table at the Roman-Germanic museum in Cologne June 18. Leaders of the Group of Seven industrial nations starting today likely to focus on repairing ties with Russia incensed at NATO's attack on Yugoslavia yet anxious for new Western credits, and stabilising the shaky peace in the Balkans. Leaders are clockwise German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (top), Premier Keizo Obuchi (Japan), Premier Massimo D'Alema (Italy), Jacques Santer (outgoing President of the EU Commission), Premier Sergeji Stepachin (Russia), Premier Jean Chretien (Canada), French President Jacques Chirac, President Bill Clinton and Britain's Premier Tony Blair. The dining table stands on a Roman mosaic one of the most valuable items of the museum. The mosaic is protected against damage by acrylic glas.