Summit leaders backed peace talks but in their statement there was no call for President Assad to go after resistance from Russia.

20:25, UK, Tuesday 18 June 2013

G8 leaders have agreed to work towards peace talks to end the Syrian civil war but their statement stopped short of demanding President Bashar al Assad's removal from power.

David Cameron said Mr Assad had "blood on his hands" and it was "unthinkable" that the longstanding leader could play a part in Syria's future.

But a seven-point plan the Prime Minister unveiled during a news conference following the two-day summit in Northern Ireland made no reference to Mr Assad's future due to resistance from Russia.

Tensions over Syria have dominated the G8 gathering in Lough Erne of some of the world's most powerful leaders.

It took place in the wake of an announcement by President Barack Obama that the US was ready to arm rebels seeking to oust Mr Assad, despite bitter opposition from Russia's president Vladimir Putin.

Moscow has been arming the regime and Mr Putin said he would not rule out sending fresh arms shipments to the embattled Syrian government.

Russia has been Mr Assad's most powerful supporter as his forces struggle to crush an uprising in which 93,000 people have been killed since March 2011. He can also count on backing from Iran and Hizbollah in Lebanon.

The US, Turkey, and European and Gulf Arab states support the rebels, who have lost ground to Mr Assad's troops in recent weeks.

Russian president Vladimir Putin

Mr Putin warned against arming the rebels, saying that doing so could deliver weapons into the hands of the sort of people who killed Drummer Lee Rigby.


Earlier, Russia's deputy foreign minister told Sky News his country would not sign up to any statement that demanded Syria's president be replaced with a transitional government.

Mr Cameron insisted no decision had yet been made over arming the opposition, but said lifting an arms embargo had been important to "send a message".

He admitted it was "no secret that there were very different views around the G8 table".

"But we all share a vital interest in bringing this conflict to an end and helping the Syrian people to achieve the change they want so we agreed to work together on seven things".

These included pledging to rid Syria of terrorists and extremists, condemning the use of chemical weapons by anyone and supporting a future Syrian government that was neither Sunni, Alawite or Shiite and has the consent of all sides.

The G8 leaders also pledged nearly $1.5bn (£960m) of new money for humanitarian operations, including doubling the UK's contribution, and "maximise the diplomatic pressure to bring all sides to the table as soon as possible".

And they aimed to work towards establishing a transitional governing body for Syria with full executive authority, and making sure the key institutions of state including military and security forces will remain intact through the transition and there is no vacuum.

The provision was being seen as a signal to Mr Assad's senior officers that there may be a future for them in a democratic Syria if they act now to eject the president.

He stressed the tone of the G8, which included a leaders' dinner on Monday night that was not attended by any officials or aides, had helped achieved significant progress on Syria.

"Reaching this agreement was not easy. It was made possible only by the frank, open, leader-to-leader discussion that was a key feature of this G8.

"Every leader around that table knows that words alone won't stop the suffering. The task now is turn to that into real action."

Meanwhile, the UK will help train 7,000 Libyan troops as the country seeks to rebuild following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

Mr Cameron said some leaders at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland had offered to support the training efforts.

He said the troops would help Libyan prime minister Ali Zidan "take the fight to the extremists" in the country and the training mission would be paid for by the Libyan government.

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