G8 foreign ministers reach consensus on intl’ topics despite initial differences – Lavrov

(Interfax – GENEVA. April 12, 2013) The G8 foreign ministers managed to reach consensus on Iran, North Korea’s nuclear issue and other international topics regardless of their initial differences.

“Of course, the positions differed considerably initially, but common sense and good will lead to formulating common approaches in line with the necessity to search for political and diplomatic solutions without isolating anyone,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters on Thursday commenting on the results of the G8 meeting in London.

Lavrov said that the G8 foreign ministers managed to agree on “consensus approaches to Iran, nuclear issue of Korean Peninsula, the Syrian crisis and conflicts in Africa.”

“In general, quite constructive collective work,” he said.

The Russian foreign minister said that “the discussion, which completed the months-long work of our experts to prepare the final declarations of ministers, was useful.”

The G8 foreign ministers traditionally meet prior to the G8 high-level summit, agree on and announce approaches of the eight countries on international issues, Lavrov said.

Lavrov said that apart from the issues of certain countries, the foreign ministers discussed specific spheres, in particular the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the fight against terrorism and drug production. “On our initiative and with France’s support, the accent has been moved from the fight against drug trafficking to the fight against drug production,” he said.

Lavrov said that the UK initiated the G8 considering the issue of sex abuse in the conflict zones. “This issue exists but it is to be resolved firstly on the basis of the resolutions on problems of women, children and armed conflicts, which have already been adopted by the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,” the Russian foreign minister said.

The Russian foreign minister said that “there is a necessity to pay no less serious attention to other negative manifestations during armed conflicts.”

“Having supported this British initiative, we will pursue that all issues emerging in conflicts are at the focus of the G8,” he said.

Lavrov said he supported “not fighting against the consequences of conflicts, but liquidating the conflicts themselves.”