G8 foreign ministers tackle broad agenda

Powell meets Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Renato Ruggiero in Rome.

By Elise Labott
CNN Washington Bureau

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- From missile defense to Mideast violence, foreign ministers of the world's most industrialized nations are in Rome working on the agenda for the G8 summit, which will get under way in Genoa Friday.

Officials said a large part of the talks earlier in the day centered around the continued violence between the Israelis and Palestinians. All ministers agreed that the Mitchell Report, which calls for a total end to the violence and confidence-building measures by both sides, offers the only way forward.

"They are all in touch with the parties and all are making the same points," one senior Bush administration official said.

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U.S. officials said the anti-globalization movement and its violent protests in anticipation of the summit will be the focus of discussions during a working dinner of the Group of Eight ministers Wednesday evening.

U.S. resistance to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas reductions is another major concern of protesters and is expected to be a major issue in the meetings later this week in the northern port city of Genoa.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell joined his counterparts from Italy, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Russia to discuss other issues such as combating poverty and regional conflicts such as Macedonia.

Stuck on language in Macedonia

Senior Bush administration officials said the working sessions also covered issues related to Africa, including how the AIDS crisis is hampering development of the continent and the need for conflict prevention and private enterprise. Discussion about Macedonia began with an informal meeting of the contact croup on the Balkans. A senior administration official said the ministers discussed efforts being made by U.S. Ambassador James Pardew and the European Union's Francois Lyotard to urge the parties toward a political solution to the standoff between the Macedonian government and the ethnic Albanian minority.

Pardew and Lyotard will meet with Macedonian President Boris Trikovski Wednesday evening in advance of a visit to Skopje by E.U. security chief Javier Solana and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson.

Although the group noted the Macedonian government's recent criticism that the U.S.-E.U. effort is biased toward the Albanians, they expressed a desire to find a solution that everyone could live with. The senior administration official said the parties had reached a consensus on all issues except the use of the Albanian language in the country.

Russia and missile defense

Powell began the day with a breakfast meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov as he kicked off an intense push by the Bush administration to win Russia's acceptance of a missile defense system.

In advance of a summit between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week, Ivanov said Russia is prepared for substantive and concrete" discussions on strategic stability.

But, Ivanov said, Moscow would "appreciate more clarity" on the administration's plans, especially on a time frame for U.S. implementation of a test program.

Powell said the Pentagon's plans will become more clear "in the very near future" and will give Russia a "basis upon which to make judgments as to how we should move forward."

The debate centers around the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, which complicates the administration's proposed test program for a missile shield to guard against attacks from nations such as North Korea and Iran.

The treaty specifically prohibits the development, testing and deployment of a national missile defense program.

Powell and Ivanov said working groups from both the Pentagon and the State Department, along with their Russian counterparts, will begin intense negotiations on missile defense and the larger issue of a new strategic framework covering offensive and defense weapons and proliferation issues.

Senior officials said issues related to arms control and strategic stability will be reflected in a communique the G8 foreign ministers will issue at their closing working session Thursday.

Powell also met Wednesday with Italian Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero, marking the first official engagement between the countries since Bush took office.

U.S. officials told CNN the bilateral meeting signals an intent by the Bush administration to develop the relationship between the United States and Italy, and one senior administration official in the meeting with Powell described the atmosphere as "very good."

Bush will meet with Italian President Silvio Berlusconi while in Italy for the G8 summit.