G-8 leaders urge Israel to show restraint
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-16 16:03
President Bush joined world leaders Sunday in urging Israel to show some
restraint after four days of steady bombing against its neighbor Lebanon.
U.S. President George W. Bush, right, and
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, shakes hands during their
bilateral meeting at the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, July
16, 2006. [AP] |
"Our message to Israel is, look, defend yourself but as you do so be mindful
of the consequences, so we've urged restraint," Bush said.
World leaders opened their first working session at the Group of Eight summit
Sunday, expressing confidence they would emerge with a consensus position
calling for peace -- despite differing views on who shares the blame.
"The international community must address the root causes" of the violence
taking place in the Mideast, Bush said as the leaders prepared for their first
working session at the summit.
"This started because Hezbollah decided to capture two Israeli soldiers and
fire hundreds of rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon," Bush said. "That's
the cause of the crisis."
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, sitting with Bush for a bilateral meeting
on the summit's sidelines, said everyone is going to work hard to find a common
solution. "We all want the situation to calm down," Blair said.
The only way to stop the hostilities, Blair said, is to address the root
causes -- the extremists backed by Iran and Syria. "We should be able to agree
on a position," he said.
French President Jacques Chirac said the G-8 nations would call for a show of
moderation of all parties involved and for a lasting cease-fire in the Middle
East.
"We share the same views of issues at stake here in the Middle East," Chirac
said as he ended a separate one-on-one meeting with Bush.
Yet Bush and Chirac have taken different views of the violence. Chirac has
questioned whether Israel's response to the capture of its soldiers went too
far, while Bush has placed blame squarely on Hezbollah and the nations that back
it and has declined to call for a cease fire.
|
