The G-8 fails to agree on Libya
The Group of Eight (G-8) foreign ministers recently wrapped up a meeting in Paris without reaching an agreement on Libya. According to the New York Times: The eight most powerful industrialized nations failed to agree Tuesday on a no-flight zone or any other military operation to help the Libyan opposition, instead passing the problem to ...
The Group of Eight (G-8) foreign ministers recently wrapped up a meeting in Paris without reaching an agreement on Libya. According to the New York Times:
The Group of Eight (G-8) foreign ministers recently wrapped up a meeting in Paris without reaching an agreement on Libya. According to the New York Times:
The eight most powerful industrialized nations failed to agree Tuesday on a no-flight zone or any other military operation to help the Libyan opposition, instead passing the problem to the United Nations Security Council by urging an undefined increase of pressure on the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
France and Britain pressed for agreement on a no-flight zone, while Germany and Russia opposed the measure and the United States was cautious, officials said, speaking anonymously following diplomatic protocol.
While I haven’t seen any official reaction, I’d bet that China is pretty pleased that the G-8’s most recent foray into foreign-policy making has come to nothing. As a non-member, China hates the notion of the G-8 getting involved in security questions, which Beijing believes (not unreasonably) are the province of the Security Council. The G-8 has periodically waded into foreign policy and at certain moments has been a critical discussion forum. During the later stages of the Kosovo crisis, for example, key negotiations on a Council resolution took place on the sidelines of G-8 meetings in Germany.
At the time, China grumbled but ultimately assented to the draft worked out by the G-8 ministers. I’d bet that today’s China would be much more hesitant to endorse the work of an exclusive club to which it doesn’t belong.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
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