July 16, 2006

G8 calls on Hizbollah to end attacks on Israel

By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Group of Eight leaders on Sunday blamed extremists for an upsurge of Middle East violence and while accepting Israel's right to defend itself said the Jewish state should exercise "utmost restraint".

Setting out conditions for an end to violence, G8 leaders in summit talks in Russia put the onus on Hizbollah militants to restore peace by releasing abducted Israelis and ending attacks on Israel.

G8 leaders get ready for a family photo during their summit at Konstantinovsky Palace in St.Petersburg, July 16, 2006. (REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski)

Then the Israeli offensive against Lebanon could end, said the statement.

"These extremist elements and those that support them cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos," said the text hammered out by the leaders of the world's richest nations.

"We call upon Israel to exercise utmost restraint," it added.

The Middle East crisis forced its way to the top of G8 leaders' deliberations after a wide offensive by Israel against Lebanon following the abduction of two Israeli soldiers and rocket attacks by Hizbollah Islamic militants.

The crisis, which has left dozens of civilians dead, has divided Washington, the Jewish state's big backer, and G8 partners such as France which saw its response as excessive.

But these differences were bridged in a carefully-crafted statement.

"We demand first that the Israeli soldiers be returned to Israel healthy, that the attacks on Israel cease, and then naturally for Israel to halt military action," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters.

Under pressure to respond on the Middle East, the G8 leaders closeted in a tsarist-era palace on the Gulf of Finland raced through documents on pre-planned themes including security of energy supply and sought to unblock world trade talks.

Differences on the merits of promoting nuclear energy and on how to tackle climate change were papered over. Host-nation Russia conceded to European Union demands to support in principle transparent and open energy markets.

CRISIS TALKS

The worsening Middle East situation dominated the thoughts of leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

U.S. President George W. Bush early in the day had reaffirmed support for Israel's right to self-defence -- a view echoed in the G8 statement -- and refused to ask it to halt its bombing of Lebanon.

The G8 asked Israel to be mindful of "the strategic and humanitarian consequences of its actions."

It should exercise utmost restraint to avoid civilian casualties, damage to buildings and the destabilisation of the fragile Lebanese coalition government, the leaders said.

Merkel said the G8 leaders want a new military observer force for the country.

France earlier had made it clear it saw Israel's military response as disproportionate and Russia's Vladimir Putin had accused Israel of "pursuing other, wider goals".

But neither of these views found an echo in the statement.

Hizbollah launched its deadliest attack on Israel in a decade on Sunday, firing rockets that killed at least eight people in the port city of Haifa and prompting a warning to Lebanon of "far-reaching consequences".

Putin had set energy security as the main theme for the first G8 summit to be held in Russia.

A statement on "Global Energy Security" approved by leaders acknowledged splits over nuclear energy and climate change among the world's top economies.

Nuclear energy, which is making a comeback worldwide, produces no greenhouse gases and has been hailed by some environmentalists as a good way of protecting the climate while meeting growing demand for electricity.

But some G8 powers worry nuclear energy is dangerous and Germany is committed to phase-out its plants by the early 2020s.

Leaders also approved documents on education, and on fighting infectious diseases. They renewed a pledge to fight the AIDS virus, but offered no detailed plan on how they would fund the ambitious targets they have set.

Under pressure from Britain, G8 leaders agreed to review efforts to boost aid, cut debt and improve trading conditions for Africa at next year's meeting in Germany. Blair put assistance at the top of the agenda at the G8 summit he hosted in 2005 but this year's host Russia initially ignored the topic.

(Additional reporting by Sophie Louet, Douglas Busvine, Lou Charbonneau)

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G8 calls on Hizbollah to end attacks on Israel

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