18 June 2013
ENNISKILLEN, United Kingdom -- The war in Syria dominated the start of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland yesterday as Western leaders upped pressure on Russia to back away from its support.
Russia dismissed rumoured Western moves to establish a no-fly zone over Syria to help the opposition forces while host Prime Minister David Cameron pushed for progress on a peace conference.
On a brighter note the European Union and the United States announced the formal start of negotiations on the world's biggest free trade pact, in a bid to boost growth and generate jobs in the flagging global economy.
But the focus was on potentially spiky talks on Syria between President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama at a picturesque golf resort on the banks of Lough Erne.
Since Washington declared it would supply military assistance to the opposition after finding that Syria had used chemical weapons, Obama and Putin are now offering military support to opposing sides in the war.
Cameron wanted the summit to focus on efforts to crack down on tax evasion and force multinational companies to be more transparent, but the conflict in Syria threatened to overshadow everything else. The British premier said his priority in the session dedicated to Syria later was to ensure that a peace conference on the conflict takes place later this year in Geneva.
"What we do need to do is bring about this peace conference and this transition, so that people in Syria can have a government that represents them, rather than a government that's trying to butcher them," Cameron said.
Washington and Moscow have been pushing peace talks in Geneva, but the efforts have so far been fruitless. In his talks with Putin, Obama will emphasise that US wants to keep alive the proposed peace conference in Geneva.
ENNISKILLEN, United Kingdom -- The war in Syria dominated the start of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland yesterday as Western leaders upped pressure on Russia to back away from its support.
Russia dismissed rumoured Western moves to establish a no-fly zone over Syria to help the opposition forces while host Prime Minister David Cameron pushed for progress on a peace conference.
On a brighter note the European Union and the United States announced the formal start of negotiations on the world's biggest free trade pact, in a bid to boost growth and generate jobs in the flagging global economy.
But the focus was on potentially spiky talks on Syria between President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama at a picturesque golf resort on the banks of Lough Erne.
Since Washington declared it would supply military assistance to the opposition after finding that Syria had used chemical weapons, Obama and Putin are now offering military support to opposing sides in the war.
Cameron wanted the summit to focus on efforts to crack down on tax evasion and force multinational companies to be more transparent, but the conflict in Syria threatened to overshadow everything else. The British premier said his priority in the session dedicated to Syria later was to ensure that a peace conference on the conflict takes place later this year in Geneva.
"What we do need to do is bring about this peace conference and this transition, so that people in Syria can have a government that represents them, rather than a government that's trying to butcher them," Cameron said.
Washington and Moscow have been pushing peace talks in Geneva, but the efforts have so far been fruitless. In his talks with Putin, Obama will emphasise that US wants to keep alive the proposed peace conference in Geneva.
© Oman Daily Observer 2013
