G8 heads of parliaments discuss terror in St. Petersburg

September 16

The G8 heads of parliaments are meeting in St. Petersburg to discuss pressing issues such as the fight against terror, WMD proliferation, illegal migration, cross-border diseases, and preparation for and relief efforts in the wake of natural disasters.

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Dennis Hastert delivered the keynote speech.

Alexander Kozlovsky, a member of the Russian delegation who briefed the media about the closed-door meeting, said the G8 speakers included Lebanon in their anti-terror discussion "because [Lebanon is seen as] a common concern closely linked to the fight against terror."

"We are committed to taking practical steps [to deal with the problem]," Russian State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov told the meeting, "The fight against terror is a matter of action."

The meeting, Kozlovsky said, was unanimous in that "no nation can address terrorism and new challenges and threats alone; there should be a partnership with a single united approach."

The Russian delegation remarked that the definition of "terrorism" was still a matter of debate, and called for the abandonment of anything that might be seen as double standards on terror. However, "no differences have surfaced during today's discussion yet," Kozlovsky said.

He also briefly described the keynote speech.

"[Dennis Hastert] did not speak just about terrorism. He covered many burning issues like infectious diseases, the danger posed by drugs and natural disasters. The U.S. speaker highlighted illegal migration as a key challenge."

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