U.S. - Europe In Sharp Opposition Over Issues Of MD And Kyoto Protocol

G8 summit, composed of the 7 leading developed countries and Russia, will be held in the Italian city of Genoa beginning on Friday for three days. It was reported that the summit will discuss issues such as the economic condition of the world, including the U.S., the U.S.` MD system, remission of debts of the 36 poor countries, and the peace issues in the Korean peninsula and the Middle East.

However, it is anticipated that a conflict over the U.S.` MD system and the salvage of the Kyoto Protocol on global warming will create a stir from the beginning of the summit since the U.S. and some of the European countries take different stance on these issues.

President George W. Bush in an interview with the British media on Thursday in Britain before the summit said that ``there is no change in the U.S. basic line that it will establish the MD system by abolishing the 1972 anti-ballistic missile treaty with Russia, and will withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol.``

In response to President Bush’s statement, Dutch Environment Minister Jan Pronk said that ``the Kyoto Protocol, which intends to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions to prevent the global warming, will be ratified without the participation of the U.S.``

Although G8 foreign ministers` meeting in Rome, Italy, discussed the pending issues such as MD system and the Middle East crisis on Wednesday, the member countries did not reach an agreement. Moreover, although the U.S. and Russia had a separate foreign ministers’ meeting to discuss the MD system, they did not make an agreement due to the strong opposition from Russia.

It seems that the summit will adopt the statement to call for the second South-North Korea summit talk between President Kim Dae-Jung and Kim Jong-Il, the North Korea’s National Defense Commission Chairman.

Meanwhile, as the rumor has it, 150,000 protesters will gather for the anti-globalization protests in Genoa where the G8 summit will take place. The Italian police committed 20,000 police to block the city since Wednesday.

stern100@donga.com