Group of 8 Leaders Press Russia on Syria
Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press
From left, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and President Barack Obama.
By STEPHEN CASTLE
Published: June 18, 2013
ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland — Senior officials at a meeting of the Group of 8 industrialized countries here struggled on Tuesday to draft a statement on the war in Syria acceptable to both Russia — the main international backer of President Bashar al-Assad — and to countries that want to see a rapid transition of power in Damascus.
Tensions over how to deal with the widening conflict and growing humanitarian crisis in Syria have dominated the two-day meeting in Northern Ireland that ends Tuesday.
The summit meeting’s host, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, had indicated that he was hoping the gathering would yield a joint declaration as the basis for talks expected to take place in Geneva under the auspices of the United States and Russia.
British officials hope that Mr. Assad could be persuaded to send a representative to those discussions, paving the way for him to relinquish power.
But Western hopes that the peace conference in Geneva could take place in July were also receding because this might prove “too early” for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, said a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because the summit statement had yet to be finalized.
Mr. Putin has supported Mr. Assad both diplomatically and with weapons. He has warned against American plans to begin sending some arms to rebels there and he has said he does not believe the rebels fighting to overthrow the Syrian leader in a bloody civil war that has claimed an estimated 93,000 lives have the capacity to form an alternative government.
As the line-by-line discussion of the summit declaration continued on Tuesday, there was a growing likelihood that Russia would sign up to a communiqué with the other seven nations but only in return for softer language about a political transition.
The summit statement was also expected to announce initiatives on tackling global tax avoidance and on clamping down on the legal ruses used by multinational companies to reduce their tax liabilities. Britain is also seeking an agreement on preventing ransom payments in kidnappings, which it believes is now a major source of terrorist funding.
Late Monday, leaders gathered for talks over dinner to press Russia to overcome its deep differences with other industrialized nations and agree to a series of principles governing a transition of power in Syria.
Ahead of the dinner, President Barack Obama met Mr. Putin to try to persuade him to put pressure on Mr. Assad to negotiate a transition.
The five principles discussed over dinner were the provision of humanitarian assistance; moves to combat extremist elements; a declaration that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable; preparations for stabilization after a change of government; and discussion over a transition to a new executive authority in Syria.
“Our objective remains progress toward a political solution which results in a transitional government,” said a spokesman for Mr. Cameron on Tuesday, describing the talks between the G-8 leaders on Syria as a “real discussion.”
“It wasn’t people reading out pre-prepared position papers. It was a real engagement on these difficult subjects,” said the spokesman, who was not identified by name, in line with British government policy. “There was an acknowledgment on all sides of the importance of putting in place the conditions that could lead to” successful talks in Geneva.
All eight leaders spoke during the talks on Syria, which took up more than one hour of the two-hour dinner, but Mr. Obama, Mr. Putin, Mr. Cameron and President François Hollande of France contributed the most to the discussion. During the talks, Mr. Putin argued forcefully that the Syrian opposition was not ready to form an alternative government, the Western diplomat said, adding that the discussion was frank but calm, with no raised voices.
The talks Monday night took place in a lakeside lodge with few officials present, over a meal of crab, prawn and avocado salad, roast beef and apple crumble. NY Times
Comments