Bush defends decisions on North Korea, Olympics
TOYAKO, Japan (AP) - July 6, 2008 They faced major differences, especially over how far to go in
trying to set limits on pollutants that contribute to global
warming.
The host of this year's Group of Eight summit, Japanese Prime
Minister Yasuo Fukuda, and other leaders would like to see the top
industrialized nations and other fast-growing economies such as
China and India pledge a 50 percent cut by 2050 in the emissions
that contribute to global warming. The Bush administration has not
shown any enthusiasm for such a commitment without cooperation from
the Chinese and Indians.
"I've always advocated that there needs to be a common
understanding and that starts with a goal. And I also am realistic
enough to tell you that if China and India don't share that same
aspiration, that we're not going to solve the problem," Bush said
at a pre-summit news conference with Fukuda.
The leaders of the U.S., Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Canada
and Russia planned to kick off the meeting Monday at a remote
mountaintop resort overlooking a lake formed by a volcanic crater
on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The session ends
Wednesday with a larger gathering that brings in eight additional
countries - Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico,
South Korea and South Africa.
Hundreds of protesters rallied under heavy police security
Sunday. A demonstration by about 2,500 people on Saturday led to a
brief clash with police; four people, including a television
cameraman, were detained. Protesters have not been able to get near
the summit venue, but have scheduled daily rallies about 60 miles
north, in Sapporo, the largest nearby city.
Before the G-8 talks, Bush planned to meet with Russia's new
president, Dmitry Medvedev, who took office last month as
ex-President Vladimir Putin's hand-picked successor. Putin still
wields enormous influence at home as prime minister.
White House aides said Bush hoped to bring up areas were the
countries could cooperate more, including missile defense and
Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization.
Medvedev's appearance could help him make the case he is
emerging from Putin's shadow and carving out a leadership role. In
an interview with journalists from G-8 countries last week,
Medvedev suggested that he, not Putin, is in charge.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain has urged
stripping Russia of its G-8 membership because of autocratic steps
by Putin. Neither fellow Republican Bush nor Democratic
presidential contender Barack Obama shares that view.
Ahead of the Bush-Medvedev meeting, the Kremlin issued a
statement suggesting that good personal ties are developing between
Bush and the new president and that a transition period following
the change of presidents in Russia "was practically unneeded."
The statement, by the Kremlin press service, mentions that Bush
will be replaced next January, but that in the meantime "we have a
lot of work on the current agenda with the Bush administration..."
"The overall balance of the Russian-American strategic dialogue
remains positive, but that of course does not mean there are no
`serious differences,' said the statement. For instance, on missile
defense, the Kremlin said, "our basic approaches still differ."
At a news conference with Fukuda, Bush defended his decision to
attend the Olympics opening ceremonies Aug. 8. Among the leaders
who plan to skip that event are British Minister Gordon Brown,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen
Harper. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is considering not
attending.
China's role as host has focused attention on its human rights
record and the security crackdown in Tibet; some U.S. conservatives
have criticized Bush for planning to go to the opening ceremonies.
"The Chinese people are watching very carefully about the
decisions by world leaders and I happen to believe that not going
to the opening ceremony for the games would be an affront to the
Chinese people, which may make it more difficult to be able to
speak frankly with the Chinese leadership," the president said.
Fukuda announced that he also intended to go.
"There are many aspiring athletes that will be going to
Beijing, and I would like to cheer them on, too, which I think is
only natural. I don't think you really have to link Olympics to
politics," the prime minister said.
Bush also addressed Japanese concerns over the kidnapping of
Japanese citizens by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Those
abducted apparently were used to train North Korean agents in
Japanese language and customs.
Japanese citizens are upset about the U.S. move to remove North
Korea from the State Department's terror blacklist in exchange for
the North's decision to admit to some of its nuclear weapons work
and begin dismantling its nuclear facilities.
As a condition for sending aid and improving relations with the
impoverished North, Japan long has pushed for the resolution of the
issue of the abductions.
Bush recalled a White House meeting a few years ago with Sakie
Yokota, the mother of a 13-year-old Japanese girl kidnapped by
North Koreans agents on her way home from school in 1977. "As a
father of little girls, I can't imagine what it would be like to
have my daughter just disappear," Bush said at the news
conference. "So, Mr. Prime Minister, as I told you on the phone
when I talked to you and in the past, the United States will not
abandon you on this issue."
Bush said the two leaders also talked about the gloomy economy.
Many of the world's older economic powers are suffering from low
growth.
"With regard to soaring food and oil prices, which are having
negative impact on the world economy, we agreed there's a need for
expeditious efforts on these fronts," he said.
The U.S. economy, he said, "is not growing as robustly as we'd
like. ... We're not as strong as we have been during a lot of my
presidency." He hoped the economic aid checks going out to many in
the U.S. "will continue to have a positive effect."
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On the Net:
Group of Eight summit: http://www.g8summit.go.jp/eng/