CIRCUMVENTING HOT SECURITY ISSUES

A host of factors, ranging from the Israeli-Palestine conflicts to the Iran nuclear issue, an unstable Afghanistan and the chaotic situation in Iraq and to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, are putting world security at risk.

Before the G8 summit began, there were high hopes that the leaders would make new moves in efforts to resolve the issues. However, their statement failed to satisfy the expectations of of many people.

The statement said progress had been made on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through the Six-Party process since last year and it urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to take a bigger stride in the process of denuclearization.

The leaders also expressed their firm support for the efforts by China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and the U.S. in resolving the nuclear issue in Iran.

However, the statement hardly touched on the issues of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestine conflicts. Instead, it devoted most of the pages to the G8's determination to fight terrorism and prevent proliferation.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2008)