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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice sits amid representatives from the Group of Eight, at a meeting in London. (AP)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners June 24, 2005 |
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Foreign ministers from the world's leading industrialized nations reached agreement on wide-ranging issues, from Afghanistan's narcotic production to Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories.
The Group of Eight nations also urged North Korea to resume dialogue on its nuclear program, called on Iran not to resume its uranium enrichment activities and condemned human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and the western Sudanese region of Darfur.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice insisted Israel's disengagement from Gaza must be peaceful, and urged Middle Eastern countries not to turn a blind eye to terrorism.
Less than two months away from Israel's withdrawal from all 21 Jewish settlements on the Gaza Strip and four in the West Bank, the Middle East peace process dominated much of the daylong summit Thursday in London.
There are fears the pullout could lead to an escalation of violence if Palestinian militants fire at settlers leaving their homes or at security forces carrying out the mass evacuation.
Rice, in London after a tour of the region, called on the Palestinian authority to rein in militants and said neighboring countries must fight terrorism.
"There cannot be a blind eye to the activities of states that are supporting terrorist groups whether it be the Syrians, the Palestinians, Islamic Jihad which is headquartered in Damascus, or the Iranians who have never supported the peace process and continue to support terrorists," she said.
Syria hosts the headquarters of the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and also has close ties with the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, which is also supported by Iran.
Earlier Thursday, Rice met with top officials from Russia, the European Union and the United Nations to discuss the road map to peace in the Middle East.
The so-called Quartet said in a statement the Gaza withdrawal should revitalize the road map peace process and encouraged the two sides to "move closer to the goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security."
Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah joined the G8 talks, which discussed how to stem the flow of narcotics from Afghanistan.
The country last year supplied more than 90 percent of the world's opium, the raw material for heroin, sparking warnings that the country was turning into a narco-state just three years after the fall of the Taliban.
"We recommitted ourselves and the international community to a long-term relationship with the people of Afghanistan and its government as there is still a very great deal to do given the legacy of the Taliban," said Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
The G8 ministers urged North Korea to resume six-party disarmament talks with South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States. A statement released by Straw, who chaired the summit, said "North Korea's record of WMD-related activities ... remains of profound concern" to G8 nations.
The close of summit statement also fully supported diplomatic efforts led by Britain, France and Germany to persuade Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment activities.
Uranium enriched to low levels can be used as fuel in nuclear reactors to generate electricity, but further enrichment makes it suitable for a nuclear bomb. The European Union and the United States don't want Iran to have its own nuclear fuel cycle.
Rice called on Iran "to live up to their international obligations not to seek a nuclear weapons program" and said she backed Europe's diplomatic efforts.
Some of the strongest words were reserved for Zimbabwe, where thousands of people have been forced from their homes in what President Robert Mugabe says is an urban cleanup operation. Mugabe's political opponents say the monthlong campaign is meant to punish its supporters for voting against the ruling party in recent parliamentary elections.
"We believe that there really is a high responsibility placed on African leaders not to continue to turn a blind eye to what is going on in Zimbabwe," said Straw. "If the reports are simply half true _ and we believe them to be much more than half true _ this is a situation of serious international concern."
Rice called on the African Union to speak out "against these outrages."
The closing statement said those responsible for "massive violations of human rights in Sudan should be prosecuted and brought to justice." Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million others have been displaced from their homes since fighting broke out between government forces and rebel factions in Darfur more than two years ago.
Canada's foreign minister did not attend the meeting because of domestic political concerns. He was represented by senior foreign affairs official Jim Wright.
The AP contributed to this report.
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