G8 summit calls on Israel to halt Mideast offensive

Sun Jul 16, 2:27 PM ET

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) - Leaders of the G8 group of world powers called for "an end to Israeli military operations" in the Middle East and demanded that "extremists" stop shelling Israeli territory.

In a statement agreed here after emergency talks on the crisis, they also demanded the safe return of Israeli soldiers captured by militant groups and the release of arrested Palestinian ministers and lawmakers.

However they did not specifically identify Iran and Syria as backers of the militants, as the United States had been pushing for, referring only to Hamas and Hezbollah "and those that support them."

"The most urgent priority is to create conditions for a cessation of violence that will be sustainable," said the text agreed by the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

It identified a list of conditions required for this to happen, including "an end to Israeli military operations and the early withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza" as well as a halt to attacks on Israel.

"Those extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos and provoke a wider conflict," the statement said.

The G8 leaders also urged the United Nations to consider deployment of an "international security/monitoring presence" in Lebanon.

Afterward, French President Jacques Chirac called for the rapid disarming of all militias in Lebanon, where the Shiite movement Hezbollah is based, in order to alleviate the long-term threat to Israel's security.

Speaking before the statement was agreed, US President George W. Bush said that "as a sovereign nation, Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorist activity.

"Our message to Israel is defend yourself, but be mindful of the consequences. And so we've urged restraint," Bush said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had rejected calls for a temporary truce, saying it would not address the underlying threat to Israel's security.

Russia and the European Union by contrast made clear they want a ceasefire and have called Israel's use of force "disproportionate."

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who arrived Sunday in Beirut for talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, said before leaving Brussels that his "first task" in the region would be to try to secure a ceasefire.

The Lebanon offensive has left more than 100 people dead on both sides -- Israeli warplanes bombed more targets Sunday while Hezbollah retaliated with rockets on Haifa, killing eight. Scores have also died in Gaza where tanks rolled in again overnight.

Earlier Sunday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair pointed his finger more directly at Damascus and Tehran.

"The fact is there are people in that region, notably Iran and Syria, who do not want this process of democratization and peace and negotiation to succeed," he said.

The G8 countries also agreed on other issues, including ways to address concerns on energy security.

They promised to promote "open, transparent" energy markets and develop alternative energy sources, including nuclear power, to counter soaring oil prices and declining fossil fuel reserves.

"Ensuring sufficient, reliable and environmentally responsible supplies of energy at prices reflecting market fundamentals is a challenge for our countries and for mankind as a whole," the leaders said in their statement.

Turning their attention to the world's poorest countries, particularly those in Africa, the G8 leaders called for import duties on medicine to be scrapped but disappointed aid agencies by announcing no new initiatives for the continent.

In a move to jump-start stalled talks in the World Trade Organization (WTO), G8 leaders gave negotiators a month to come up with the basic outline of a plan for liberalizing world trade, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.

"It is an ambitious goal," Barroso told reporters.

On Monday, the G8 leaders will meet with counterparts from the five major emerging market economies -- Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa -- to try to rescue the floundering Doha round of trade liberalization talks.

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