Summit exposes rift among G-8 leaders on Syria

A White House statement said the EU-U.S. talks could start the week of July 8. Both sides hope to reach agreement by late 2014.

— Associated Press

Deep differences on Syria’s fierce civil war clouded a summit of world leaders Monday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin defiantly rejecting calls from the U.S., Britain and France to halt his political and military support for Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s regime.

But there were also fissures among the three Western nations, despite their shared belief that Assad must leave power. Britain and France appear unwilling — at least for now — to join President Barack Obama in arming the Syrian rebels, a step the U.S. president reluctantly finalized last week.

The debate about the Syrian conflict loomed large as the two-day summit of the Group of Eight industrial nations opened Monday at a lakeside resort in Northern Ireland. The lack of consensus even among allies underscored the vexing nature of the two-year conflict in Syria, where at least 93,000 people have been killed as rebels struggle to overtake Assad forces buttressed by support from Hezbollah, Iran and Russia.

Obama and Putin, who already have a frosty relationship, did little to hide their differing views on the matter while speaking to reporters after a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the summit Monday evening. The two-hour meeting marked the first time the leaders have met in person since last year.

“We do have different perspectives on the problem,” Obama said plainly of their divergent views on Syria.

The Russian leader, speaking through a translator, agreed, saying, “Our opinions do not coincide.”

But despite their seemingly intractable differences, Obama and Putin did express a shared desire to stop the violence in Syria and convene a political conference in Geneva, Switzerland, next month. But it’s unclear who would participate in such a meeting or whether the rebels, given their weakened position, would have any leverage if they did.

The Russian president’s divisions with Western leaders on Syria were also on display in his separate meetings with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande. Both European leaders have previously indicated a willingness to arm vetted Syrian rebels and successfully pushed for the European Union to allow an arms embargo preventing the flow of weapons to expire.

Still, neither country is yet to join Obama in arming the opposition. After the U.S. decision, there has been growing public concern in both countries about the wisdom of delivering weapons to a country where groups affiliated with al-Qaida are supporting elements of the rebellion.

“I am as worried as anybody else about elements of the Syrian opposition, who are extremists, who support terrorism and who are a great danger to our world,” Cameron said Monday.

Obama, who has long signaled a preference for deepening U.S. engagement in Syria in conjunction with international partners, was expected to urge his British and French counterparts to join the U.S. in boosting lethal aid to the opposition.

Although Putin did not publicly criticize the U.S. decision to arm the opposition during his meeting with Obama, he exhibited far less restraint Sunday after his meeting with Cameron.

“One hardly should back those who kill their enemies and, you know, eat their organs,” he said, referencing a gruesome Internet video purportedly showing a rebel commander committing an act of cannibalism.

“Do we want to support these people?” Putin asked. “Do we want to supply arms to these people?”