Iran expected to dominate G8 meeting in Italy

Foreign ministers of Group of Eight countries are seeking to find a common position on Iran's violent crackdown on protesters as they open a meeting in this northeastern Italian city.

Italy, the host of the meeting, said Thursday it wanted to send a tough message, but Italian officials in Trieste also stressed the need not to further isolate Iran. The EU commissioner for external relations condemned the use of excessive force, and called for dialogue among battling parties within Iran.

Italy originally invited Iran to attend the three-day gathering as a special guest, arguing that it could play an important role in stabilizing Afghanistan _ an important focus of the meeting. But Italy retracted the invitation after Iran failed to respond, and after days of violent clashes with demonstrators protesting Iran's disputed June 12 elections.

"I think it's a missed opportunity for the Iranian government," European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

Even in Iran's absence, the country remained at the center of discussions as the delegates converged on this port city.

While several of the G-8's European members have expressed concern about the postelection violence and urged a recount, it was unclear how strong a condemnation would emerge from the meeting in Trieste.

"Clearly the main point is striking the right balance between the inevitable language of condemnation and worry over violence and, on the other hand, the need not to close the door on Iran and not to accentuate its isolation," said Maurizio Massari, the Italian Foreign Ministry spokesman. He said Italy did not want to get into the details of whether a re-count or re-election would be necessary.

President Barack Obama condemned the violence against protesters Tuesday and lent his strongest support yet to their accusations the hardline victory was a fraud. But the United States does not want to become a scapegoat for Iran's cleric-led government.

Russia has said it backs the results that returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia, which hosted Ahmadinejad at a regional summit a few days after the election, so far had seen no legal violations in Iran's crackdown. He said no action should be taken that would put lives in danger.

Lavrov said outside the Trieste meeting that "nobody wants to condemn" Tehran, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.

"Isolating Iran is the wrong approach," Lavrov was quoted as saying by ANSA. "The key word is 'involvement.'"

Lavrov held talks Thursday with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who earlier Thursday had employed some of Italy's strongest language to date to call for "a tough and clear position before the world" on Iran. Frattini sought to smooth over any differences, saying after the talks that details on the statement on Iran were being worked out.

"We'll have a good text," he said.

Frattini also had a meeting with Obama's U.S. Mideast envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell.

As the delegates started arriving in Trieste amid tight security, dozens of Iranians and Italians gathered in the city in a show of solidarity with protesters in Iran. The demonstrators wore green arm bands and doctor's masks on their faces. Some carried signs calling Ahmadinejad a "dictator and terrorist." One sign said "NEDA-Stop the Killing," in reference to the apparent shooting death of Neda Agha Soltan, a 26-year-old woman who bled to death in a Tehran street and now is a symbol for the demonstrators.

"Mass arbitrary arrests have to stop and crackdown against Iranian and foreign journalists is also unacceptable," Ferrero-Waldner told reporters. The commissioner said that "we are all deeply concerned about the situation in Iran," and she condemned "the excessive use of force by the security forces against any peaceful demonstrators, which has already cost quite a number of lives."

But she also said the crisis should be settled through dialogue between the different forces within Iran.

"We don't want to interfere in the internal affairs of Iran," she said, "but I think we want to see them come to a dialogue and sort this very difficult situation out."

The meeting, which opened with a working dinner, ends at midday Saturday.

On the agenda is a series of global issues, from counterterrorism to organized crime and piracy.

The Afghan conflict will take central stage Friday and Saturday, with U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke and important regional players _ including the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan _ joining in the discussions on five major points of discussion: border management, drug trafficking, economic development, refugees, and food security.

In all, 44 delegations will participate in the meeting of the eight industrial powers, including representatives from the Islamic Development Bank, the International Organization for Migration and the World Food Program.

On the sidelines of the summit will be a meeting of the Mideast Quartet _ the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations _ to try to help move the Israeli-Palestinian peace process forward. Mitchell is to attend, as will a range of Arab League nations which will join in a follow-on session Friday afternoon. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is grounded in Washington with a broken elbow.

Israel was not invited; the Foreign Ministry said that decision was taken by the Quartet, not Italy.

___

Associated Press Writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.