Sue Jameson on the G7 leaders' meeting
G7 leaders will meet in Brussels today after a planned G8 summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi was cancelled in March.
But who will be there and who is not invited to the party? Sue Jameson explores in her blog...
So, only seven chairs for the world leaders for the first time in 17 years - the 8th chair could be gathering dust for quite some time as the drip drip diplomacy continues to try to persuade Russia that it has to de escalate the crisis in Ukraine and give up claims on Crimea.
David Cameron will be the first leader to have a face to face meeting with the Russian leader in France just after this summit ends and he and Barack Obama will meet privately today to discuss the very tricky diplomatic tactics involved.
The American leader won't be having direct meetings with the Russian leader even though they will all be in Normandy to commemorate the D-Day landings but the feeling here is that it's vital G7 speaks with one voice.
Though leaders still hold the threat of further sanctions or Russia's head, there is no doubt that they see the election of Ukraine's new president as a significant opportunity to reinvigorate the peace talks without having to wield the sanctions sledgehammer.
This is a hastily-scrambled G7, it was supposed to be G8 in Sochi before the Ukrainian crisis, but all the leaders know each other well and this is a much more informal gathering than the G20 and therefore a much better chance to chat over a coffee and croissant rather than over the phone.
So while there may not be any dramatic breakthroughs, even the smallest of gestures is important at this stage...