Thu, May 17, 2012
MOSCOW, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia will work to exclude Syria and Iran from the declaration of the upcoming Group of Eight summit, the Kremlin said Thursday.
The situations in Syria and Iran will be discussed on the sidelines of the summit, and Russia will maintain its principles and avoid the inclusion of articles concerning the two countries in the declaration of the summit, Presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said.
"We believe the main floor to solve these issues, to make agreed positions is the UN Security Council. During the G-8 summit these topics could be discussed informally," Dvorkovich said.
Dvorkovich also said the summit would be held in a "maximum informal mode" as desired by the United States.
Russian President Putin earlier declined an invitation to the summit, citing the need to complete his new government. Instead, the newly appointed Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will attend the event at the Camp David presidential retreat near Washington on Friday and Saturday.
Medvedev will hold several bilateral meetings during the summit, including one with U.S. President Barack Obama, the official said, adding that talks between Medvedev and other participants would be mostly informal.
