G8 Summit: Syria Dominates Lough Erne Talks

A joint statement on the conflict in Syria is set to be agreed by leaders at the G8 summit, officials have said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has become increasingly isolated over his continued support of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria.

And with the other seven members of the G8 keen to push through a communique of sorts on the matter by the end of the two-day summit, it is thought a compromise will be reached.

Differences persist between the US and Russia over Syria

Officials from one western nation told AFP news agency that the statement was likely to focus on less contentious issues such as the need to push for a peace conference in Geneva and on humanitarian aid.

David Cameron and Barack Obama were among those leaders who failed to hide their differences with Mr Putin following a late-night showdown over the Syrian issue, which threatens to overshadow the gathering of leaders in Northern Ireland.

Downing Street welcomed a "very positive" response from Mr Putin at the summit dinner, reviving hopes for a peace conference to pave the way for a political transition in the war-torn Middle Eastern state.

While British officials also said the other seven G8 nations could go as far as issuing their own end-of-conference statement on Syria without Russia, there were signals that Mr Putin was ready to sign up.

The Russian president and his US counterpart met for an hour of talks at Enniskillen's Lough Erne golf resort and in a grim-faced news conference afterwards said they had agreed to push all the parties in the conflict to attend the Geneva conference.

"Of course our opinions do not converge, but all of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria and stop the growth in the number of victims," said Mr Putin, who has been dismissive of White House plans to begin arming selected rebel groups in Syria.

He said he and the US president agreed that the vicious civil war must end "peacefully" and through peace talks.

"We agreed to push the parties to the negotiating table."

Poles apart? David Cameron meets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8

Mr Obama simply acknowledged that they had "different perspectives" on Syria.

Sources suggest Mr Putin is ready to sign up to five key principles discussed at last night's dinner.

The five points include support for a transitional authority that will command the support of all Syria's communities - effectively ruling out a place for Mr Assad.

Mr Cameron, who Downing Street confirmed went for a lone swim in Lough Erne this morning, described last night's discussions on Syria as "encouraging".

But British Chancellor George Osborne told Sky News that divisions remained between Russia and other nations.

Free Syrian Army fighters fire a rocket at Assad forces in Aleppo

"There was the discussion on Syria and no-one's going to pretend that everyone saw eye-to-eye," he said.

"Everyone knows that Russia's got a different position. The Prime Minister told me that at the end of the dinner there was a clear commitment around the table to push for a political solution to this humanitarian tragedy."

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall said: "All they are really saying is 'We are discussing it and it looks like we are actually doing something, it looks as if we're making progress'.

"But, in fact, they're not making any progress at all. We are no further forward on Syria than we were before the G8 started and no further forward than we were two months ago when the idea of a peace conference was first mooted."

The annual gathering of world leaders comes days after Mr Obama suggested the US may send weapons to opposition forces.

Mr Putin has warned that weapons could end up in the hands of extremists opposed to European values, who "eat the organs" of their enemies. He has also said he is ready to supply Mr Assad with anti-aircraft missiles.

Meanwhile, Mr Cameron's official spokesman said a "very strong" declaration was expected on ending ransom payments to terrorists.

"It will be around the G8 governments not paying ransoms to terrorist organisations and a commitment to work with businesses and other groups in each country, with the objective of suffocating terrorist sources of financing," said the spokesman.

Mr Cameron hopes to secure consensus today on an international initiative to tackle tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance by sharing information between tax authorities.

But campaigners raised concerns that any agreement on tax information-sharing may be confined only to the rich world, leaving out the developing countries which miss out on billions in tax revenues because of individuals and companies secreting their wealth in offshore bolt-holes.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

G8 Summit: Syria Dominates Lough Erne Talks

Dengan url

http://badutjayus.blogspot.com/2013/06/g8-summit-syria-dominates-lough-erne.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

G8 Summit: Syria Dominates Lough Erne Talks

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

G8 Summit: Syria Dominates Lough Erne Talks

sebagai sumbernya