The G8 agenda

By Safa Haeri

The leaders of the world's eight most powerful industrialised nations, who gathered in the central English city from 15 -17 May for their 24th annual meeting, were supposed to deal with a different set of problems. They were supposed to deal with "improving employability" and the fight against new hi-tech methods of international "criminality" and money laundering. Also, according to the official agenda drawn by the host, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the summit was supposed to help the poorest, most indebted countries and review the "global economic situation", including the recent financial and economic crisis in Southeast Asia. But the Indian nuclear tests and unrest in Indonesia not only overshadowed the official agenda, but also highlighted the powerful group's division on several issues.

The atmosphere, helped by beautiful weather, was cordial and most informal. Participants -- even Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan and President Jacques Chirac of France -- looked relaxed and good spirited. But that did not forestall disagreements in the ranks of the world's powerful leaders.

American President Bill Clinton called on his colleagues, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, to issue a "strong and unambiguous" warning to India and find ways to persuade Pakistan not to enter the nuclear arms race by testing its own "A" weapons. But the final communiqué, issued on Sunday, only condemned India's nuclear explosions, with Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Italy opposing any sanctions. Clinton had earlier announced sanctions against India in accordance with US law. While he expressed his satisfaction with the club's attitude towards India, only Canada wanted the G-8 to go "much further" in its condemnation of New Delhi.

Some differences, however, appeared in bilateral meetings between the participants. During a lunch on Friday between the American president and his French counterpart, described by French officials as "very friendly", the two leaders were in tune on almost all subjects. "The Middle East was one of the few subjects where there was a slight difference of tune between President Chirac and President Clinton," said Catherine Colona, Chirac's spokesperson. "America has presented a proposal (calling for Israeli withdrawal from 13 per cent of occupied Palestinian lands) which has received the full backing of France and which had been wisely accepted by [Palestinian leader] Yasser Arafat," Chirac said during his first press briefing. He added, however, that Washington should put more pressure on Israel. There was major disagreement also between the Russian and American presidents over the thorny question of Moscow's nuclear co-operation with Iran.

Asked by Al-Ahram Weekly to comment on President Clinton's intention to raise the question with Russian leader Boris Yeltsin, Serguey Yasterjhembsky, press secretary for the Russian presidency, said Russia would not yield to US pressure on its present nuclear co-operation with the Islamic republic. But he added that Russia "had not and will not" export ballistic and missile technology to Iran.

Washington and Tel-Aviv accuse Moscow of providing the Iranian Mullahs with advanced nuclear and missile technology. Moscow and Tehran continue to reject the accusations. "The question here is very clear: the power plant we are building in Iran is of a peaceful nature and Iran is open to international inspections including those from the International Atomic Agency," Yasterjhembsky said. "There is nothing secret here." He said "the missile thing is not real [but] the fruit of Israeli and American media imagination."

"We did not have such collaboration with Iran and will not have it in the future," he added.

According to Yasterjhembsky, President Yeltsin had directed all Russian concerned agencies and ministries to prevent the export of dual use technologies to certain countries, including Iran. He added that that the Russian intelligence agency had also directed all concerned Russian factories, both civilian and military, and the space agency, which is in charge of the nation's advanced missile technologies, to establish all possible control to prevent the sale or transfer of such weapons to "undesirable countries." The factories and space agency were also directed to stop all direct contacts with nationals of the "undesirable" states, which Yasterjhembsky did not name. "The last important decisions should stop the American and Israeli rumour mills," he said.

Perhaps the most important decision reached at the G-8 summit was the agreement on Monday between Blair, in his capacity as current president of the European Union, and his "friend" President Clinton on suspending the US "D'Amato Law". The controversial law calls for American sanctions on foreign firms which invest more than $20 million in Iranian and Libyan oil and gas industries.

The Russian gas giant Gazprom alongside Malaysia's Petronas and the French oil company, Total, which had signed a $2 billion-deal with Tehran for the development of Iran's South Pars gas fields in the Persian Gulf, were prime targets of the controversial law. The question was addressed "in a very friendly manner" by the French and American leaders during bilateral talks and both sides did "their best to find an amicable solution to it," French sources said. The agreement will primarily help avoid a trade war of world dimension between the two sides of the Atlantic. Iranian sources said it will also help improve relations between Washington and Tehran since it will open the way for all firms, including American ones, to enter the Iranian oil market.

For the rest of the world, two images best summarised the G-8 summit. There was one of the powerful leaders, particularly Clinton and Blair and their wives Hillary and Cherie, enjoying the Beatles famous hit, All You Need is Love. The other was from a poster carried by a "Sandwich woman" saying, "for each one dollar in aid, the poor nations reimburse $1.3."