Jul 16, 2006 12:17 pm US/Eastern
Merkel: G8 Drafts Strong Mideast Message
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) ―
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G8 leaders (from L) French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W.Bush attend their second working session at Konstantinovsky Palace outside St. Petersburg, July 16, 2006.
DENIS SINYAKOV/AFP/Getty Images
World leaders agreed Sunday on a statement that sends a "strong message" on the fighting in the Middle East, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced after a long day of discussions.
"It is a strong message with a clear political content," she told reporters.
Merkel said the statement calls for two captured Israeli soldiers to be freed, for the attacks on Israel by Hezbollah militants to stop and for Israel to end its military action.
It also expresses support for the Lebanese government, she said.
The statement comes after the Group of Eight world leaders struggled to bridge sharp differences over how to deal with the escalating violence.
Israeli warplanes began striking Lebanon after Hezbollah guerrillas crossed the border on Wednesday and captured two Israeli soldiers. The guerrillas struck back at Israeli cities, and on Sunday fired a relentless barrage of rockets into the Israeli city of Haifa, dramatically escalating the conflict.
The crisis has dominated talks among President Bush and the other leaders attending the annual G-8 summit of major industrial countries. The Group of Eight is made up of the United States, Russia, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Canada.
Bush and European leaders disagreed on who should be blamed for the violence, and those differences had to be overcome for the G8 nations to issue a joint declaration.
While other G8 leaders questioned whether Israel's response to the capture of its soldiers went too far, Bush has placed blame squarely on Hezbollah and its state sponsors -- Iran and Syria -- and has declined to press Israel for a cease-fire.
Bush described the escalation of violence as "a moment of clarification" that should show the world how Hezbollah is disrupting the peace process.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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