Divided G8 to Put Aside Differences Over Iraq at Evian Summit

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) summit will be heading to the idyllic Alpine lakeside resort of Evian on June 1 for a grueling three days of talks on topics ranging from the global economy to fighting famine in Africa.

Coming in from St. Petersburg, where celebrations will be held to mark the 300th anniversary of the Russian city, heads of the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Russia will be meeting for the first time since the beginning of the U.S.-led war against Iraq. There are already signs the recently strained transatlantic relationship is likely to dominate talks.

Vive la France!: Bush extends conciliatory handshake

U.S. President George W. Bush has plans for a one-on-one meeting with French President Jacques Chirac, who led a vigorous campaign against the Iraq invasion in the United Nations security council. Bush said he hoped the meeting would help ease some of the tension between the two countries.

"Evian will not be a summit of confrontation. On this trip I am determined to work with France and French leaders," Bush told the French daily Le Figaro. "I expect to have a good discussion with Jacques Chirac," the President said, adding in French: "Vive la France" (Long Live France).

Bush indicated he was willing to put behind Washington's anger at the French stance on the war in Iraq.

"There is a sense of frustration and disappointment amongst the American people toward the French decision, that's realistic," he said. "I've got to convince the skeptics in France that the intentions of the United States are positive. And the French leadership has got work to do to convince the American people that they are concerned about the security of our country."

The U.S. President also had warm words for war opponent Russia, saying his country would support Moscow's entry into the World Trade Organization. The President did not extend an olive branch to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (photo), whom he has largely snubbed since Schröder turned Germany's opposition to the war into a campaign issue.

Divisive issues expected at summit

The summit is expected to address a host of other contentious issues facing the world and currently dividing various group members. Analysts say the differences among the eight need to be laid aside.

"This is their first meeting since the war in Iraq," said Fred Bergsten, director of the Washington think-tank Institute for International Economics in a Reuters interview. "Evian is a critical moment in restoring the multilateral process."

Professor John Kirton, head of the University of Toronto's G8 Research Group wrote in remarks due to be presented at a seminar on the G8 outside Paris on Tuesday, "Seldom before has a G8 so divided confronted an agenda and opportunity so large."

While the Bush camp wants the summit to focus on the war against terrorism, the Middle East peace process and on preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile technology, France hopes to steer talks towards alleviating problems of the Third World.

Chirac pushes pro-Third World agenda

"We need intensive dialogue with developing countries," the French president said last week. Following what has become almost a tradition at the G8 summit, Chirac has invited leaders of five African countries, initiators of the "New Partnership for Africa's Development". In addition, the French President has for the first time invited leaders from China, Brazil, Mexico, India, Saudi-Arabia, Malaysia and Morocco to for a special opening session on global issues on Sunday.

Chirac is keen the summit addresses Third World issues such as fighting huger and famine and a G8 action plan on Africa agreed last year that includes unfufilled measures such as creating an African peacekeeping force. Chirac's initiative is backed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan who in a letter to the G8 has pressed for progress on dismantling trade barriers and better access to drugs to fight AIDS and other diseases in poor countries.

"I hope your meeting will discuss, not whether we need to address these challenges, but how we can resolve them," Annan wrote.

Bush will bring his own, specific suggestions for France and the rest of Europe on how to tackle a difficult third-world agenda. The President wants the European Union to reconsider its ban on the import of genetically-modified food which he says can help Africans fight famine. He also called for Europe to follow America's lead in pledging billions to fight AIDS in Africa and the Carribean.

G8 cooperation key to aiding world economy

The slumping world economy, which has affected every one of the G8 members will remain a major topic. The French President has urged world leaders to deliver a optimistic message to kick start the world economy at a time when many of Europe's economies are struggling and the dollar is in a tailspin.

Financial analysts have underscored the importance of the Evian summit addressing the problem and said it could help restore business and investor confidence.

"If these guys go to Evian and cannot show their ability to cooperate, it will be very damaging politically and economically and there would be severe damage in financial markets," Bergsten told Reuters.

Bush has already said he would seek to reassure his G8 partners that Washington was on track with its "strong dollar" policy, despite the dollar's slide to historic lows against the euro in recent days. "I am going to tell my partners that the United States is conducting a healthy monetary and fiscal policy," Bush told Le Figaro.