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The
G8 leaders pledged "support for a just, comprehensive and
lasting settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict"
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SEA
ISLAND, June 10 (Islamonline.net & News Agencies) - The U.S. and
its seven fellow Group of Eight members approved Wednesday, June 9, a
common approach to reform in the Middle East, but ran into differences
over a role for NATO in Iraq.
U.S.
President George Bush managed to win an endorsement from the G8
leaders for his plans for social, political and economic reform
in the Middle East and northern Africa, despite significant
skepticism in Europe and the Arab world, reported Reuters.
They
also decided to create a "forum
for the future" to provide a "ministerial framework
for our ongoing dialogue."
"Our
support for reform in the region will go hand in hand with our support
for a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement to the Arab-Israeli
conflict," G8 officials said in a joint statement.
French
President Jacques Chirac told a summit lunch that democracy could not
be imposed from outside and ending Middle East conflicts had to be the
priority.
"We
must stand ready to help. But we must also take care not to
provoke," said the French leader.
"For
that would be to risk feeding extremism and falling into the fatal
trap of the clash of 'civilizations:' precisely what we wish to
avoid."
Critics
had said the plan was a smokescreen for a lack of U.S. involvement in
Israel-Palestinian peacemaking.
Egypt
and Saudi Arabia, alarmed
by the implications of the initiative declined an invitation to the
summit.
Tunisia,
which holds the rotating presidency of the Arab summit followed suit,
but the leaders of Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan and Yemen showed up.
At
Loggerheads
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Bush
presented Yawer as "an Iraqi president of a free
country"
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The
G8
summit had been billed as a chance to consign old animosity over the
U.S.-led invasion of the oil Arab country to history, after the
unanimous passage of a new U.N. resolution
on Iraq on Tuesday, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
U.S. and Britain hade invaded and occupied Iraq in the face of staunch
opposition from fellow-G8 members France and Germany and without a
U.N. mandate.
However,
the new G8 harmony appeared in jeopardy when Bush and Chirac gave
conflicting statements on whether NATO should help bring stability to
war-torn Iraq.
Bush
had called for a greater presence of the western military alliance in
occupied Iraq.
"We
believe NATO ought to be involved," he said, admitting that
"a lot of NATO countries are not in a position to commit more
troops."
Facing
a knife-edge reelection battle, Bush wants to ease the plight of U.S.
troops, many of whom are reservists or on extended tours as they
battle a vicious Iraqi resistance.
Chirac,
however, told a news conference he did not think it was the
"mission" of NATO to intervene in Iraq.
"Nor
do I think it would be relevant or well-understood in Iraq," he
asserted.
The
French leader said Paris would be willing to consider the idea if the
interim Iraqi government due to take over in Iraq requested it.
Asked
about Chirac's remarks, a senior Bush administration official said:
"I think we'll see some movement on NATO having some role."
Although
the U.S., Britain and other NATO members have troops in Iraq, the
alliance has no formal role in the country.
Iraqi
Debts
The
G8 leaders, however, agreed to forgive a "substantial" part
of Iraq's 120 billion dollar debt but has not set a precise figure.
The
question of Iraq's debt is a thorny one, with the U.S. pushing for up
to 90 percent to be canceled and European countries such as France
unwilling to go so far.
A
French official, who asked not to be named, told reporters at the G8
summit that a text agreed upon by the leaders contains "the idea
of a 'substantial' treatment of the debt. This suits us fine."
But
he said no precise percentage was included in the declaration.
For
France, a substantial portion would be around 50 percent and no more,
while Canada has discussed canceling two-thirds of the Iraqi debt.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin is ready to cancel 65 percent of the Iraqi
debt and is also linking the move to the ability of his country's
businesses to operate in Iraq, a Russian official said.
He
quoted Putin as telling Bush that "our flexibility will depend on
yours and the capacity of our businesses to work in Iraq."
'Better
Mood'
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An
unidentified anti G-8 Summit demonstrator confronts riot gear-
clad police officers
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Some
participants said the mood at this G8 summit was far better than that
of the last one, in Evian, France, a year ago, when ties were still
poisoned over the Iraq war.
"The
atmosphere was totally different from what we had a year ago,"
said European Commission chief Romano Prodi.
U.S.
officials described Bush's meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder on Tuesday as the warmest between them in more than a year.
Meanwhile,
Bush, flushed with the U.N. backing on Iraq, introduced Iraq's
caretaker President Ghazi Al-Yawar to summit delegates Wednesday.
"I
really never thought I'd be sitting next to an Iraqi president of a
free country a year-and-a-half ago. And here you are," Bush told
Al-Yawar.
Al-Yawar
was named
by Iraq's Governing Council on Tuesday, June 1, as Iraq's interim president
after Council member Adnan Pachachi turned down the post.
Click
to read the summit documents on:
