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Wrap: G8 summit eases tensions, brings deals on climate, Africa

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World leaders concluded Friday a three-day G8 summit in Germany that brought new deals on climate change and Africa, and may have served to ease tensions between Russia and the West.
HEILIGENDAMM, June 8 (RIA Novosti) - World leaders concluded Friday a three-day G8 summit in Germany that brought new deals on climate change and Africa, and may have served to ease tensions between Russia and the West.

A standoff between Russia and the United States over the Pentagon's plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe had threatened to overshadow the summit, but in an unexpected development, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the U.S. the use of a Russian-leased radar in Azerbaijan as compromise solution.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted the meeting, which brought together the leaders of Japan, Russia, the United States, Canada, Britain, France and Italy at a luxury hotel complex in Germany's Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, while thousands of anti-G8 protesters blocked roads and swarmed security fences outside the resort.

Putin-Bush missile shield talks

Putin held a bilateral meeting with George W. Bush on Thursday evening. In an apparent attempt to ease tensions sparked by Washington's plans for a missile shield close to Russia's borders, the president offered the U.S. joint use of the Gabala radar, rented by Russia in Azerbaijan.

A White House adviser who attended the talks called the proposal a "bold" and "interesting" move, and promised to thoroughly study the initiative.

Azerbaijan borders on Iran, one of the "rogue states" that the Pentagon's planned missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic is allegedly directed against.

A Kremlin aide, Sergei Prikhodko, later said, "It seemed that the [Russian] president was sufficiently convincing on all issues concerning this topic, and his arguments clearly aroused President George W. Bush's interest."

However, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared to throw cold water on Putin's proposal, saying Friday that the U.S. would continue its talks with Poland and the Czech Republic on its missile shield plans regardless of whether negotiations begin on the Russian offer.

Climate change

An agreement on climate change in conditions of economic growth was hailed as another key achievement at the summit, but was dismissed by many environmental groups for a lack of binding agreements on emissions cuts.

Merkel, a former environment minister who holds a doctorate in physical chemistry, put climate change at the top of her country's presidency in the G8, and has been pushing for an international commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by the middle of the century.

She also promoted increasing fuel efficiency by 20% and limiting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius in the wake of a recent UN report on climate change, firmly linking global warming down to human activities.

Washington, which has refused to join the Kyoto Protocol, has been strongly opposed to mandatory emission cuts.

But in a joint declaration, G8 leaders agreed to consider seriously the decisions made by the EU, Canada and Japan to cut global emissions by half by the mid-century. "We commit to achieving these goals and invite the major emerging economies to join us in this endeavor," the declaration said.

The U.S. also offered to host climate talks within the UN framework later this year.

Kosovo

G8 leaders came to a deadlock on the issue of independence for Serbia's predominantly Albanian province. Russia, a staunch ally of Belgrade, resisted calls from the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K., Italy and Canada for a vote on a draft resolution on Kosovo's independence.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed holding off a UN vote for six months, to give time for an agreement to be reached with Russia, on the condition that Moscow recognize that Kosovo's independence was inevitable. However, Russia's delegation maintained its full opposition to the region's independence, and refused to back down on its pledge to veto the draft resolution.

Africa

Aid to poor African countries dominated the final day of negotiations, which produced an agreement to allocate $60 billion to fight AIDS, malaria and TB on the continent.

In their joint declaration, the leaders invited other donors to join the initiative, proposed by the United States, which has promised to cover half of the sum.

Russia initially said it was caught by surprise by the new U.S. proposal announced by President Bush on the eve of the current summit in Germany, but later reaffirmed its support for the initiative.

The declaration said, "We will continue our efforts towards these goals [fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis on a sustainable basis] to provide at least a projected $60 billion over the coming years, and invite other donors to contribute as well."

Aid agencies were quick to point out that the declaration failed to set out a definite timetable or specify the contributions of individual countries, and did not clarify how much of the sum had been previously pledged.

About 63% of all the people in the world infected with HIV live in Africa. Every year, malaria kills nearly one million people globally. Around 90% of the deaths occur in Africa, mostly among children. Tuberculosis kills 5,000 people every day, mainly young adults.

Iran

G8 leaders, most of whom suspect Iran of pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program, said in a joint statement that they favored a diplomatic resolution of the problem, but promised to further support UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic if it fails to suspend uranium enrichment. Tehran says it needs nuclear power to generate energy.

"We deplore the fact that Iran has so far failed to meet its obligations under UNSC Resolutions 1696, 1737 and 1747 and will support adopting further measures, should Iran refuse to comply with its obligations," the statement said.

North Korea

Another country arousing international concerns is North Korea, which has been pursuing a controversial nuclear program. South Korean media reported on Thursday, the second day of the summit, that North Korea had fired two short-range anti-ship missiles into the Yellow Sea to the west of the country.

World powers condemned North Korea's nuclear program and urged the country to observe the non-proliferation regime and cooperate with the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"We condemn the DPRK's nuclear test which is a clear threat to international peace and security," a joint G8 statement said.

Investment, piracy, corruption

The leaders adopted a series of declarations, including a pledge to free up foreign investment and fight corruption. The declaration, entitled "Growth and responsibility in the world economy," said that "erecting barriers and supporting protectionism would result in a loss of prosperity."

The first joint declaration also covered piracy and announced the leaders' commitment "to combat piracy and counterfeiting" as obstacles for economic growth.

Russia has come under pressure from the West on the problem of counterfeiting. A U.S. annual trade report in April listed Russia and China as two countries most benefiting from trade in counterfeit videos, music, and software.

On the fight against corruption, world leaders said it remained a priority and pledged to be "taking concerted action to live up to their commitments and responsibilities."

President Vladimir Putin put fight against corruption at the top of his 2006 and 2007 state-of-the-nation addresses. Senior government officials have said corruption severely impedes economic growth in Russia.

Anti-G8 protests

Apart from the stomach trouble that the American leader suffered on the third day of the summit, the forum was disturbed by protests, which turned violent in the run-up to the forum at the weekend and continued into the first day of the summit.

About 16,000 policemen and security guards were guarding the summit venue. Around 10,000 people blocked roads leading to Heiligendamm on the first day of the meeting, and hundreds breached security and swarmed the fence surrounding the resort.

Protesters also blocked a small-gauge railroad, the only way to get from the media center in the neighboring town of Kuehlungsborn, for about four hours. Journalists had to be ferried to the summit venue by boat.

But the most original protest was organized late Thursday when about 15-20 naked people paraded the streets of Rostock, where demonstrations had turned violent Saturday.

On Friday, about 150 protesters tried to get to the venue of the G8 summit from the press center by sea, but were intercepted by police boats.

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