Putin praises G8 Mideast involvement, welcomes unanimity on Lebanon aid

September 17

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the G8 for its recent involvement in the Middle East as he met with the G8 parliamentary leaders in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"The idea and the proposals on the Middle East, formulated in St. Petersburg, notably on the danger posed by the continued lack of solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict, are G8 contribution to the international effort aimed to overcome the region's crisis and set the stage for a reinvigorated peace process," he said.

"Our countries were also unanimous on providing aid to Lebanon," he recalled.

"The summit has confirmed that the G8 is ready to continue its proactive and coordinated nonproliferation effort, which is demonstrated in the current solutions to the issue of the Iranian nuclear program," Putin said.

He also highlighted progress on anti-terrorist cooperation.

"We placed an emphasis on improving and developing its legal basis, countering terrorism funding and terrorist propaganda, and ensuring the inescapable accountability of terrorists and their sponsors," he said.

The G8 was also unanimous in its support for the Russian-U.S. presidential Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, which the Russian president described as "an invitation to all interested stakeholders to take part in joint action."

"We highlighted the UN's unique role in the consolidation of the multilateral anti-terrorist effort, outlining ways to increase its efficiency. G8 unanimity does I think hold credit for the recent UN General Assembly's consensus over the UN global anti-terrorist strategy," the Russian leader said.