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Bush Blames Hezbollah for Mideast Violence
U.S. President George W. Bush gestures to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a media conference at the G8 summit site in St.Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, July 15, 2006. World leaders tore up a carefully prepared summit agenda Saturday to turn their attention to a growing crisis in the Middle East. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
(Alexander Zemlianichencko - AP)
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Both Bush and Putin expressed hope that the intense fighting would end. The G-8 partners were expected to issue a statement on the conflict later this weekend.
Bush said he and Putin, who held two hours of face-to-face talks in advance of the summit, were not able to agree on Russia's admission to the World Trade Organization.
The talks broke off because of differences over assurances the United States was seeking over the protection of U.S. copyrights and patents and promises that Russia would accept greater amounts of U.S. farm goods.
Bush said the administration believed Russia needed to offer more in trade concessions to satisfy the Congress. He said both sides would continue to negotiate to get a deal. The United States is the only country that has yet to signoff on Russia's membership in the WTO.
But the leaders were able to agree on an initiative to combat nuclear terrorism. The new agreement builds on an existing "Proliferation Security Initiative," a U.S.-led group of dozens of nations working together to help seize illicit weapons as they are transported around the world.
The new program, known as the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, calls on states to improve accounting, control and physical protection of nuclear material and radioactive substances as well as the security of nuclear facilities.
The agreement pledges joint efforts to detect and suppress illicit trafficking in nuclear, biological and chemical materials _ particularly measures to prevent their acquisition and use by terrorists. Participating nations also will be bound to respond together to mitigate the consequences of acts of nuclear terrorism.
Bush and Putin, who casually called each other by their first names, sought to downplay U.S.-Russia tensions.
Besides the newest Middle East crisis, Bush and Putin discuss ways to deal with the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
The United States and Japan insisted that the U.N. Security Council vote Saturday on a proposed resolution condemning North Korea's missile tests. A last-minute proposal brought the divided council closer to an agreement, but the council remains split over one final issue: Should the resolution be adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for the use of military force to make sure the resolution is obeyed.
"I'm confident that we can get something done at the United Nations on North Korea," Bush said.
Bush said he and Putin agree that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, but Bush declined to say whether he asked Putin to back U.N. sanctions against Tehran to force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment _ a process that can lead to the production of nuclear weapons.
"If the Iranians see that the United States and Russia are working together, they will see the seriousness of our intent," Putin said.
