After failing to resolve their differences on economic strategy, world leaders are now tackling some of the globe’s toughest foreign policy problems.
American President Barack Obama and other leaders of the Group of Eight major industrial countries were to open their second day of talks yesterday, focused on nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea.
The United States and European nations will push other major powers to join them in imposing tough new sanctions on Iran over its suspect nuclear programme, a move that would build on UN Security Council measures adopted this month.
But China and Russia only reluctantly supported those sanctions and have balked at new steps against Iran.
The foreign policy discussions among the leaders of the US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia took place after an opening day during which they failed to agree on the proper mix of government spending and deficit reductions to keep the global economy on track.
Obama said the fragile global economy should not be put at risk by countries moving too rapidly to trim their deficits.
But leaders of Britain, Germany, Canada and Japan argued that deficit cuts were needed to reassure nervous investors.
The G8 leaders were scheduled to travel to Toronto today for discussions with the larger Group of 20, which includes major emerging powers such as China, Brazil and India.
The G20 leaders’ summit, launched after the global financial crisis in 2008, has now replaced the G8 as the world’s premier forum for co-ordinating economic policy.
The leaders were also holding a series of one-on-one talks.
Obama was set to meet new British Prime Minister David Cameron for the first time since Cameron took power last month. Those talks were expected to cover the difficulties posed by the BP oil spill
Obama was also meeting South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to discuss South Korea’s push for the UN Security Council to hold North Korea accountable for sinking a South Korean warship in March.
In a third meeting, Obama was holding talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, a week after China announced it would start allowing the yuan to rise in value against the dollar.
Hundreds of protesters moved through Toronto’s streets yesterday, but police in riot gear blocked them from getting near the summit security zone. About 19,000 police were providing security at a cost of more than $900 million.
Be the first to comment