The escalating Mideast crisis topped the agenda on Friday when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister Tony Blair met in London ahead of the G8 summit in Russia this weekend.

The two prime ministers, who strongly defended Israeli actions a day earlier, emerged with a show of accord to say there will be a unanimous will among G8 leaders to defuse mounting tensions in the Mideast.

Blair stressed that the international community must empower moderates on both sides to negotiate a solution.

"The only way we are going to get this situation resolved is if we support the United Nations mission, get some calm into the situation and then as soon as possible -- and I want to emphasize how important I think this is for world security -- get back into the road map to a two-state solution that offers the only chance of civility and peace in the future," Blair said.

The two leaders underscored that any differences in position among the G8 leaders are mere nuance, CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy reported on Friday morning.

"They said that there is a consensus among the leaders of the major industrialized countries that both sides do have to back down," Kennedy said.

Harper, who also made a stop at Buckingham Palace for a 45-minute visit with Queen Elizabeth, said that escalating violence is inevitable unless some actions are taken.

"I think it's essential that the soldiers be returned, that the soldiers are back on Israeli soil," Harper said.

"The more general problem is ... it's very difficult to move forward on the road map unless the Hamas government is prepared to accept the principles of the road map."

U.S. President George Bush agreed the escalating tension in the Middle East will be best addressed by unity among the G8 leaders.

After his arrival in St. Petersburg Friday, Bush dined with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the palace where the weekend talks will be held.

During the dinner Bush was expected to address Russia's poor performance on political liberties and allowing an unrestricted free press.

But he was also expected to bring up the current conflict between Israel and Lebanon, an issue that could become a dividing line between the leaders.

Russia and France have criticized Israel's attacks on Lebanon, while Canada and the U.S. have both said Israel has the right to defend itself.

Ahead of the meetings, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the G8 leaders will undoubtedly spend time discussing the subject over the weekend.

"It's unthinkable that these leaders could get together and not discuss what's going on there," she told reporters.

She underscored Bush, Harper and Blair's position that the leaders need to speak with one voice.

"We don't want to send confusing signals. Too many cooks in the kitchen is one we want to avoid," Rice said.

With the Middle East crisis likely to take top billing over the weekend, Bush's intention to bring all the leaders together in opposition to Iran's nuclear ambitions and North Korea's recent long-range missile testing may fall by the wayside.

The Kyoto accord is expected to come up over the weekend.

During the Friday news conference Blair took the opportunity to say he won't blame any nation for its position on Kyoto -- possibly a direct reference to Harper's back-pedaling from the international plan to reduce greenhouse gasses.

Blair said that the critical challenge for all countries is to come up with a climate change program that extends beyond the accord's 2012 expiry date.

With files from The Associated Press