G8: Obama, Putin and the Distant Agreement on Syria

Syria, Libya, Iran again, jobs and the economic crisis: in the remote town of Ulster, Ireland, the leaders of eight major countries deal with the emergencies facing the world. But their disagreements, especially over Syria, prevail over their agreements despite the informal atmosphere and the fact that the awareness of their differences has lowered expectations and softened the climate of the summit.

It is the Italian Premier Enrico Letta’s debut at the G8 summit and his first time with U.S. President Barack Obama, who, in a half-hour interview, agreed with the Italian outlook on youth unemployment, expressed strong concerns on the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime and asked for Letta’s help regarding Libya. “I have a plan,” Letta assured him, and Obama invited the prime minister to Washington.

It would have been a perfect debut if it hadn’t been for the blunder by the organizers, who put up a photo of his uncle, Gianni, instead of his nephew, Enrico, on the official website. But that wasn’t the only slip: Russian President Vladimir Putin had to spend the night in London on the eve of the meeting because the summit complex was not ready to accommodate him. Thus, an irritated Putin had to revise his plans. Before confronting Obama about Syria, he took a dip in the calm but cool waters of the lakes that dot the Lough Erne resort where the leaders were gathered. However, as expected, the American went to the gym. Including the 8,000 police mobilized, there was an unprecedented level of surveillance, even for Ulster, the theater of dramatic tensions in the past between Protestants and Catholics.

The G8 summit officially opened in mid-afternoon, after an initial flurry of bilateral meetings. Before starting work in plenary, the U.S. and EU gave a metaphorical kick-start to the negotiations with a trade agreement “of historical significance” which created the largest free trade area in the world. With negotiations underway, it remains to be seen whether an agreement can be found: the most optimistic forecast is that the operations will be completed within the year. There is also a wave of controversy throughout the European Union about the so-called “cultural exception”: France was able to impose an exclusion of the audiovisual sector from the negotiations, but the president of the European Commission, Manuel Barroso, called the move “reactionary.” Syria was discussed in the bilateral talks and at the working dinner. At the center of the summit was the clash between Obama and Putin: the American is in favor of providing military aid to the rebels, while the Russian, who armed the forces loyal to President Assad, warned the audience that there should be no arms provisions for the revolutionaries. Obama said he agreed with Russia that chemical weapons should not be used. Putin is still calling for a peace conference, but a real agreement still seems to be far away.

In many ways, Britain, France and Italy share the American approach. Holland also openly stated that it will not feed “illusions” of progress. The G8 summit will close today by addressing the economic crisis, jobs, and the three T’s dear to the British: taxes, transparency and trade. In countless armored cars, two hours by road from Belfast, the leaders have avoided all disputes: one small demonstration in the evening does not make it a global failure.