G8 leaders want full implementation of Annan plan on Syria

Xinhua, May 20, 2012

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday that the G8 leaders called for a full implementation of the peace plan brokered by UN-Arab League joint envoy Kofi Annan on the Syria crisis.

"We all believe that a peaceful resolution and political transition in Syria is preferable," Obama said at Camp David in Maryland where the G8 summit is held.

The leaders are all concerned about the violence taking place in Syria and are "supportive of the Annan plan," said Obama, who was flanked by the G8 leaders.

The ceasefire, which is a key part of Annan's six-point peace plan and went into effect on April 12, has been shaky from the very beginning as mutual mistrust between the government and the opposition has overwhelmed the endeavors to solve the crisis politically.

"But we agree, and I expect that this will be reflected in our communique, that the Annan plan has to be fully implemented and that a political process has to move forward in a more timely fashion to resolve that issue," Obama said.

However, given the rather vague and much watered-down remarks by Obama, it seems there is little tangible or new progress being achieved at the G8 summit on the resolution of the Syrian crisis, which was an important part of the leaders' working dinner discussion on Friday night.

The Kremlin said Thursday that Russia will work to exclude Syria and Iran from the declaration of the G8 summit. Analysts believed that such a statement, plus the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has virtually closed the door for progress on the issue.

The G8 summit is held at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland, on Friday and Saturday. The G8 and the NATO summits were originally planned to be held back to back in Chicago, the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois.

According to the explanation by White House officials, holding the G8 summit at the exclusive presidential retreat is meant to give leaders an intimate environment to discuss key problems and be able to take real actions.

Due to this reason, many media organizations have been denied access to Camp David, with the few exceptions for the press from the G8 members.

But such an explanation seems a bit far-stretching, as the NATO summit, where tangible results are expected, has been given all the highlights. Analysts suspected that a potential lack of results could be why the G8 summit occurs in such a low-key.