Middle East Crisis Set to Dominate G8 Summit
Tue Jun 25, 1:09 PM ET
By David Ljunggren

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Turmoil in the Middle East and President Bush's plan to end it will loom large when world leaders start a summit in the Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis Wednesday.

Thousands of police and troops -- armed with laser-guided anti-aircraft missiles, tanks and helicopters -- will be on duty as Bush and other leaders arrive Tuesday.

The security operation is the largest in Canadian history and is designed to ensure that if violent protests break out, the leaders at their secluded retreat an hour's drive west of Calgary will not be disturbed.

The leaders of the G8 -- Canada, France, Britain, Russia, Germany, the United States, Italy and Japan -- are officially supposed to be discussing the war on terrorism, the global economy and a plan on alleviating poverty in Africa which is dear to the heart of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

But by far the most pressing topic is the Middle East.

Bush Monday laid out his long-awaited vision of how to end the crisis, saying he backed the creation of a provisional Palestinian state as long as it was not led by current Palestinian president Yasser Arafat.

This was denounced by many Arab commentators and is likely to prove problematic for several other leaders in the Group of Eight who -- while welcoming Bush's decision to launch an initiative -- say the West has no choice but to deal with the democratically-elected Arafat.

There will also be tensions over a proposed Middle East peace conference, something which European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana Tuesday said was more important than ever but an idea which Bush seems to have shelved for now.

That said, Bush is the only G8 leader with even the remotest chance of being able to solve a crisis in which almost 2,000 people have died since September 2000.

"The agenda was set months ago but past history shows there is always a chance that something like the Middle East will arise at the last moment and dominate the summit," one senior Canadian official told Reuters.

Chretien, who said Monday that nothing would deflect him from focusing on the Africa plan, did not talk to reporters after arriving at Calgary airport Tuesday.

The leaders will also undoubtedly air their dissatisfaction with what many see as the increasingly unilateralist approach of the Bush administration, particularly in trade matters.

Chretien last week denounced as "stupid" Bush's decision to massively increase subsidies to U.S. farmers while declaring at the same time he backed free trade.

But Canadian officials dismissed the idea that the two-day summit would become a sniping session against the Americans.

SUMMIT WILL NOT TURN INTO A "BASH BUSH" SESSION

"I have not seen any indication that we're leading up to a 'Bash Bush' summit at all," one official told reporters.

Chretien insists the war on terrorism should not overshadow the unveiling of a G8 action plan on Africa. The plan was drawn up in response to an initiative from African leaders last year which broke new ground by agreeing African nations had to introduce reforms to draw in foreign investment.

Africa's New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) targets annual foreign investment of $64 billion, more than seven times higher than the total in Africa in 1999. The G8 plan will take the first steps to encouraging greater investment but will not pour in money.

"Will there be a check written for $64 billion on June 27? No, there will not, and African leaders understand that," one senior Canadian official told reporters.

Britain said Tuesday it would increase aid to Africa by nearly 60 percent over four years to one billion pounds ($1.50 billion) a year by 2006.

Washington and its allies are split over how best to aid Africa and the G8 plan has little interest for Bush, who is instead trying to push approval for a new $20 billion plan to boost nuclear nonproliferation efforts in Russia.

But the U.S. plan has run into problems on several fronts and G8 officials now say it is unlikely that a detailed announcement will be made during the summit.

The first big protest at the summit -- which could cost as much as $330 million because of the enormous security costs -- was held Sunday in Calgary. Some 2,500 activists took to the streets but the mood was party-like and police, who were out in force, had little to be concerned about.

Many protesters, frustrated by their inability to get anywhere near Kananaskis and facing a huge police presence in Calgary, are instead planning big demonstrations in the Canadian capital Ottawa Wednesday and Thursday.

The leaders will start the summit Wednesday morning by discussing the state of the global economy. Over lunch that day they will talk about the fight against terrorism before moving on to boosting sustainable development.

Dinner that night will be devoted to various burning issues such as the Middle East, Afghanistan and the continuing stand-off between India and Pakistan. Thursday's talks will be devoted solely to the Africa action plan.

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