SAINT PETERSBURG (AFX) - The US wants its key G8 partners to agree on a resolution blaming Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran and Syria for the Middle East crisis, the White House said.
The US hopes for 'something that recognises Hezbollah being at the root of this problem, in terms of Lebanon and Israel, and a need to put maximum pressure on Hezbollah to stop its rocket attacks and ultimately to return the prisoners it's taken,' said US national security adviser Stephen Hadley.
'Secondly, recognising that this is an action of Hamas, Hezbollah, with, we believe, Iran and Syria very much involved. And that needs to be highlighted and pressure needs to be put on them,' Hadley told reporters on the sidelines of the G8 summit.
A third US goal is a call to 'not destabilise the Lebanese government and empower (Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad) Siniora to deal with this problem,' said Hadley, who added: 'I think it is coming together.'
But the US official recognised that while the US and its partners agreed on the goal of ending deadly clashes in the region, they disagreed on how to get there, and said a UN mission to the Middle East would prove crucial.
Hadley said a campaign of rocket attacks and abductions of Israeli soldiers by the Shiite militia Hezbollah 'has threatened to plunge the region into violence' but sidestepped a question on whether a wider conflict was imminent.
'There is a risk, obviously, of further escalation in the region, and that's what we all want to avoid. We want to get in a situation where the violence starts coming down and we get a framework for going forward to resolving it,' he added. steve.whitehouse@afxnews.com ok/sw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited