US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, fresh from a whistlestop tour of the Middle East and a conference on Iraq in Brussels, was joining host Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of Britain and the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

According to the British Foreign Office, the talks in central London were scheduled to focus on the Middle East and Afghanistan, with events in Iran also getting a look-in.

Ministers were likely to get a report from Rice, who travelled to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia before heading to Brussels earlier this week.

Ahead of her arrival in Riyadh on Monday, Rice made a pointed attack on the Saudi regime, using a speech in Cairo to criticise Saudi authorities for jailing political activists, and praising "brave citizens" in the country for demanding accountable government.

Additionally, the talks were likely to try to iron out remaining differences potentially faced by the G8 leaders when they gather at the up-market Scottish resort of Gleneagles from July 6-8.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who will host that event, has pledged to make the fight against poverty in Africa and efforts to curb global warming the cornerstones of the summit, although how much he will achieve remains in doubt.

Earlier this month, London hailed a breakthrough after the G8 agreed a landmark deal to immediately write off all multilateral debt owed by 18 countries, 14 of them in Africa, amounting to 40 billion dollars (33 billion euros).

However, differences remain over other issues such as increasing aid, with Washington having already poured cold water on a British plan to raise cash on the global money markets, the so-called International Finance Facility.

The divide seems even greater over global warming, where the United States has repeatedly questioned the science behind climate change theories, and doubted the need for urgent action.

On Wednesday, the G8 ministers were put under pressure over the arms trade by campaigners, who urged them to tackle the harmful impact of weapons sales.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International and charity Oxfam drove a tank to the London embassies of the G8 countries to deliver a damning report saying weapons sales undermined efforts to lift Africa and other impoverished parts of the world out of poverty.

The ministers were due to assemble at 10:00 am (0900 GMT) at Lancaster House, a grand and hugely ornate early 19th century mansion now used by the Foreign Office as a conference venue.

After the discussions, a press conference had been scheduled for 3:00 pm (1400 GMT) to report on progress.

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