G8 Endorses Bush’s Mideast Reform Plan

U.S. President George Bush managed to win an endorsement from the G8 leaders for his plans for social, political and economic reform in the Middle East and northern Africa, despite significant skepticism in Europe and the Arab world, reported Reuters.

They also decided to create a "forum for the future" to provide a "ministerial framework for our ongoing dialogue."

"Our support for reform in the region will go hand in hand with our support for a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement to the Arab-Israeli conflict," G8 officials said in a joint statement.

French President Jacques Chirac told a summit lunch that democracy could not be imposed from outside and ending Middle East conflicts had to be the priority.

"We must stand ready to help. But we must also take care not to provoke," said the French leader.

"For that would be to risk feeding extremism and falling into the fatal trap of the clash of ‘civilizations:’ precisely what we wish to avoid."

Critics had said the plan was a smokescreen for a lack of U.S. involvement in Israel-Palestinian peacemaking.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia, alarmed by the implications of the initiative declined an invitation to the summit.

Tunisia, which holds the rotating presidency of the Arab summit followed suit, but the leaders of Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan and Yemen showed up.

At Loggerheads

The G8 summit had been billed as a chance to consign old animosity over the U.S.-led invasion of the oil Arab country to history, after the unanimous passage of a new U.N. resolution on Iraq on Tuesday, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The U.S. and Britain hade invaded and occupied Iraq in the face of staunch opposition from fellow-G8 members France and Germany and without a U.N. mandate.

However, the new G8 harmony appeared in jeopardy when Bush and Chirac gave conflicting statements on whether NATO should help bring stability to war-torn Iraq.

Bush had called for a greater presence of the western military alliance in occupied Iraq.

"We believe NATO ought to be involved," he said, admitting that "a lot of NATO countries are not in a position to commit more troops."

Facing a knife-edge reelection battle, Bush wants to ease the plight of U.S. troops, many of whom are reservists or on extended tours as they battle a vicious Iraqi resistance.

Chirac, however, told a news conference he did not think it was the "mission" of NATO to intervene in Iraq.

"Nor do I think it would be relevant or well-understood in Iraq," he asserted.

The French leader said Paris would be willing to consider the idea if the interim Iraqi government due to take over in Iraq requested it.

Asked about Chirac’s remarks, a senior Bush administration official said: "I think we’ll see some movement on NATO having some role."

Although the U.S., Britain and other NATO members have troops in Iraq, the alliance has no formal role in the country.

Iraqi Debts

The G8 leaders, however, agreed to forgive a "substantial" part of Iraq’s 120 billion dollar debt but has not set a precise figure.

The question of Iraq’s debt is a thorny one, with the U.S. pushing for up to 90 percent to be canceled and European countries such as France unwilling to go so far.

A French official, who asked not to be named, told reporters at the G8 summit that a text agreed upon by the leaders contains "the idea of a ‘substantial’ treatment of the debt. This suits us fine."

But he said no precise percentage was included in the declaration.

For France, a substantial portion would be around 50 percent and no more, while Canada has discussed canceling two-thirds of the Iraqi debt.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to cancel 65 percent of the Iraqi debt and is also linking the move to the ability of his country’s businesses to operate in Iraq, a Russian official said.

He quoted Putin as telling Bush that "our flexibility will depend on yours and the capacity of our businesses to work in Iraq."

‘Better Mood’

Some participants said the mood at this G8 summit was far better than that of the last one, in Evian, France, a year ago, when ties were still poisoned over the Iraq war.

"The atmosphere was totally different from what we had a year ago," said European Commission chief Romano Prodi.

U.S. officials described Bush’s meeting with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Tuesday as the warmest between them in more than a year.

Meanwhile, Bush, flushed with the U.N. backing on Iraq, introduced Iraq’s caretaker President Ghazi Al-Yawar to summit delegates Wednesday.

"I really never thought I’d be sitting next to an Iraqi president of a free country a year-and-a-half ago. And here you are," Bush told Al-Yawar.

Al-Yawar was named by Iraq’s Governing Council on Tuesday, June 1, as Iraq’s interim president after Council member Adnan Pachachi turned down the post.