G8 summit, g8 communique,
president Obama, Russia, Syria, Geneva
Global leaders called for
peace talks to be held as soon as possible to resolve the Syrian civil war but
they failed to mention the fate of president Bashar al-Assad in a final G8
summit communique.
Isolated at the G8, Russia’s
Vladimir Putin had clashed with other leaders over the conflict and resisted
their attempts to get him to agree to anything that would imply Assad should
step down or that Russia should tone down its support for Assad.
“We remain committed to
achieving a political solution to the crisis based on a vision for a united inclusive
and democratic Syria,” according to the final communique.
“We strongly endorse the
decision to hold as soon as possible the Geneva conference on Syria,” it said.
It made no mention of Assad, whom Western leaders have said in the past said
must step down as part of a resolution.
G8 leaders also called on
the Syrian authorities and the opposition to commit to destroying all
organisations affiliated with al-Qaeda.
US president Barack Obama
and his allies want Assad to cede power while Mr Putin, whose rhetoric has
become increasingly anti-Western since he was re-elected last year, believes
that would be disastrous at a time when no clear transition plan exists.
Russia has been Assad’s most
powerful supporter as his forces struggle to crush an uprising in which 93,000
people have been killed since March 2011. He can also count on backing from
Iran.
The United States, Turkey,
and European and Gulf Arab states support the rebels, who have lost ground to
Assad’s troops in recent weeks.
Western powers had tried to
hash out a statement with teeth on Syria that all G8 leaders could agree on,
though sources indicated that Mr Putin resisted.
In a high-stakes discussion
over dinner last night, Mr Putin agreed to sign up to detailed language about
the future governance arrangements for Syria, but refused to endorse any
statement that the G8 saw no place for Dr Assad in it.
The chief communique states
that the G8 nations — the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and
Russia — are “committed to achieving a political solution to the crisis based
on a vision for a united, inclusive and democratic Syria”.
It endorses plans to restart
peace talks in Geneva “as soon as possible” and says that they should begin
with both sides agreeing on “a transitional governing body with full executive
powers, formed by mutual consent”. Crucially, the document says that Syria’s
public services must be “preserved or restored” under future arrangements,
adding: “This includes the military forces and security services”.
It continues: “However, all
governmental institutions and state offices must perform according to
professional and human rights standards, operating under a top leadership that
inspires public confidence, under the control of the transitional governing
body.”
The G8 leaders also
confirmed that they are making almost $1.5 billion US dollars (€1.12 billion)
available in additional funding for humanitarian operations in Syria and its
neighbouring countries. They said they were “deeply concerned by the growing
threat from terrorism and extremism in Syria” and by the increasingly sectarian
nature of the conflict.
They called on both the
regime and Opposition forces to “destroy and expel from Syria all organisations
and individuals affiliated to al Qaida and any other non state actors linked to
terrorism”. The communique condemned any use of chemical weapons in Syria, but
was silent on US and UK claims that evidence shows Assad has already used nerve
gas Sarin on his own people, something which Moscow has disputed.
The leaders also made
progress on issues surrounding tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The
leaders signed up to a declaration designed to tackle tax evasion and promote
free trade around the world. The Lough Erne Declaration — signed by the UK, US,
Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia — vows to “fight the scourge
of tax evasion” by ensuring automatic exchange of tax information and changing
the rules to stop multinational companies shifting profits across borders to
avoid paying their fair share.
But the 10-point document,
released after two days of talks at Lough Erne, falls short of the demands of
anti-poverty campaigners, who want the developing world included in the new
arrangements from the start and have called for tax information to be made
available to all on public registers.
The declaration says only
that developing countries “should have the information and capacity to collect
the taxes owed them”, rather than guaranteeing them automatic access to the
information. And it says only that “tax collectors and law enforcers” should
have access to information about the ultimate owners of companies, leaving it
to individual G8 countries to decide whether to make the information public.
The White House said it would leave the decision to individual US states, while
British chancellor George Osborne said the UK was “open” to the idea of public
registers and is consulting on the issue.
Lough Erne Declaration
1. Tax authorities across the world should automatically share
information to fight the scourge of tax evasion.
2. Countries should change rules that let companies shift their
profits across borders to avoid taxes, and multinationals should report to tax
authorities what tax they pay where.
3. Companies should know who really owns them and tax
collectors and law enforcers should be able to obtain this information easily
4. Developing counties should have the information and capacity
to collect the taxes owed them - and other countries have a duty to help them.
5. Extractive companies should report payments to all
governments - and governments should publish income from such companies.
6. Minerals should be sourced legitimately, not plundered from
conflict zones.
7. Land transactions should be transparent, respecting the
property rights of local communities.
8. Governments should roll back protectionism and agree new
trade deals that boost jobs and growth worldwide.
9. Governments should cut wasteful bureaucracy at borders and
make it easier and quicker to move goods between developing countries.
10. Governments should publish information on laws, budgets,
spending, national statistics, elections and government contracts in a way that
is easy to read and re-use, so that citizens can hold them to account.
