03 June 2003
G-8 Leaders Endorse Iraq Reconstruction, Mideast Peace Effort
(Chirac calls meeting "a summit of dialogue") (1000)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Evian, France -- "The time has now come to build peace and reconstruct
Iraq," the leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) said in a statement at
the end of their June 1-3 summit on the shores of Lake Geneva.
"Our shared objective is a fully sovereign, stable and democratic
Iraq, at peace with its neighbors and firmly on the road to progress,"
the statement said, showing a willingness to put behind them the
divisions among some preceding the war in Iraq.
The G-8 members include the leaders of the world's seven largest
industrialized democracies -- the United States, Germany, Canada,
France, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom -- and the leader of Russia.
French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, the host of this year's summit,
and several of the other G-8 leaders had opposed the U.S.-led military
action to remove Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein from power, and there
was speculation on how they would repair the damage over Iraq when
they got together.
The summit "overcame the U.N. damage over Iraq. It certainly met its
major challenge of restoring the unity" between Bush and Chirac, said
Professor John Kirton, director of the G-8 research group based at the
University of Toronto, in a June 3 interview with the Washington File.
Chirac made it "unmistakably clear" that all the G-8 leaders supported
President Bush's trip to the Middle East, which began the afternoon of
June 2, before the conclusion of the summit, Kirton said.
"He was sent off with the collective, unified voice of the G-8 behind
him, saying good luck and Godspeed, we are all together with you,
shoulder to shoulder," Kirton said.
The G-8 leaders' final statement welcomed the approval by the
Palestinians and by Israel of the Quartet roadmap for peace in the
Middle East and expressed their joint determination to support its
implementation.
And they discussed the desirability of reaching a comprehensive peace
settlement that includes Syria and Lebanon.
Chirac said at his closing news conference June 3, "Evian has been a
summit of dialogue," not only among the G-8 leaders, but also with
non-governmental organizations, and with the leaders of the emerging
and developing countries -- Algeria, Brazil, China, Egypt, India,
Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa -- that
were invited to this year's summit.
He predicted that future summits will continue inviting leaders from
other nations to take part in "enlarged dialogue meetings" with the
G-8 members.
The summit also had "the hallmark of mutual trust," Chirac said. "We
really had the sense of coming altogether in order to bear weighty,
significant responsibilities in a world where social progress must be
achieved. It was in that spirit of mutual trust that we came up these
coherent recommendations that were accepted by all without major
difficulties or differences of opinion."
In a series of declarations and action plans, the G-8 leaders
announced steps to fight terror and arms proliferation, including the
creation of a new group to counter terrorism designed to provide
resources and intelligence to countries needing it most.
The G-8 leaders warned North Korea and Iran about their nuclear
programs and said they support efforts by various parties to seek by
peaceful means a comprehensive solution to the North Korean nuclear
issue.
Chirac told reporters that at the G-8 dinner June 2, where there was
no formal agenda, the leaders "talked about those countries of
particular concern when it comes to weapons of mass destruction,
namely North Korea and Iran."
On Afghanistan, the leaders confirmed their support for the
transitional government of President Hamid Karzai but "expressed
concern" over ongoing security problems in that country.
On Algeria, they expressed deepest sympathy for the people of Algeria
following the recent devastating earthquakes and said they are
providing "urgent humanitarian aid" and instructing their relevant
ministers to report within one month on how best to help Algeria
recover.
They also said they are concerned about reports of further violence by
the authorities in Zimbabwe against their own people and called on the
Zimbabwe government to respect the right of peaceful demonstration.
The leaders also announced measures to combat hunger and HIV/AIDS in
Africa.
The Evian summit, Professor Kirton said, made "an historic number of
concrete commitments on an unusually wide array of issue areas,
showing that the G-8 is continuing to emerge as the effective center
of global governance for the world as a whole."
He called it a summit of "solid achievement."
He listed as "particularly important" the "forward movement" on
counter-terrorism measures and measures to halt the spread of weapons
of mass destruction, including new measures to keep radiological
weapons from falling into terrorist hands, to promote transport
security, and to control the spread and use of shoulder-held
surface-to-air missiles that can take down civilian aircraft when they
take off or land.
Major progress was also made on development issues dealing especially
with Africa, including the fight against HIV/AIDS, he said.
The G-8 leaders "rallied around President Bush's most impressive act
of unilateralism" in pledging $15,000 million of new money to fight
this HIV/AIDS in Africa, Kirton said.
In addition, Kirton said there was "widespread advance on issues of
ecologically sustainable development, not just water, but maritime
tanker safety, and a new generation of science and technology for
sustainable development."
Here again, he said, "George Bush was standing shoulder to shoulder
with his G-8 colleagues."
The G-8, Kirton said, "was wise to put behind it the one divisive
issue on the environmental front, the Kyoto Protocol on Climate
Change, and move on to the vast array of other issues where it was
easier to agree."
Chirac announced that the 2004 G-8 Summit will be held in the United
States.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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