Diplomatic marathon: G8 focusing on Greece; NATO, on Afghanistan - CNN.com

 

Chicago (CNN) -- World leaders huddling at the Group of Eight meeting on Saturday are "unified in their approach" to Iran's nuclear ambitions, President Barack Obama said in his opening remarks at Camp David. The leaders agree that Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear power, Obama said, but they harbored "grave concern" that over Iran's nuclear ambitions. He said the Iranian regime has not yet convinced the world community that it isn't pursuing a nuclear weapons program, a scenario that leaders staunchly oppose. A user's guide to the Chicago NATO summit The G8 -- comprised of the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada and Russia -- are "firmly committed" to applying sanctions, pressure and diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from developing nuclear weaponry, Obama said. Who gets invited to NATO summits? "Our hope is that we can resolve this in a peaceful fashion," he said. The G8 meeting at Obama's Camp David retreat in Maryland began Friday, and is one of two high-stakes, back-to-back summits this weekend. On Sunday, NATO kicks off its two-day summit in Chicago. Protests are expected near the sites of both the G8 and NATO summits this weekend, and three people have been charged with planning violent attacks against the NATO summit in Chicago. Along with Iran, G8 members discussed a range of issues, including Syria, North Korea and Myanmar, also known as Burma, at a discussion on Friday. Obama said the group believes that a "peaceful resolution and a political transition is preferable" in Syria and the group said it is "deeply concerned about violence and loss of life." They support U.N. and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's six-point peace plan to end the 14-month crisis in Syria, an initiative that calls for a cease-fire. Obama said the plan needs to be "fully implemented" and "the political process has to move forward in a more timely fashion to resolve that issue." While all of the nations back the Annan plan at the U.N. Security Council, there have been differences between Russia and China and other nations on how to tackle the crisis in Syria. The United States and other countries have urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside and have initiated tough sanctions against the government. Russia and China's stated position is to call for an end to violence, but through diplomacy and negotiation, not official sanctions. There was agreement among the leaders that North Korea faces further isolation if it continues its pursuit of a nuclear program. Obama said all agree that North Korea "is violating international obligations." He said there's a path for North Korea "to rejoin the international community" but such an objective will fail if the reclusive nation continues with "provocative" acts. The president also said the leaders are hopeful that the dramatic political transition and process in Myanmar "take root." Obama said the world economy will be the focus of Saturday's discussions. The group is expected to debate on whether an economically weakened, debt-laden Europe should continue down the road of massive deficit cuts trumpeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel or focus more on economic stimulus to help the continent grow its way out of the current crisis. Hanging over the deliberations is the fate of economically battered Greece, which has been unable to form an elected government. Many analysts believe that Athens will be forced to exit the eurozone shortly, dropping the euro currency and possibly further rattling economic confidence. They will also discuss uncertainty in the energy markets, and the economies and development in the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan, Obama said. Opinion: Why ordinary Afghans worry about NATO summit The fate of Greece was also front and center during a bilateral meeting Friday between Obama and newly elected French President Francois Hollande, who was elected on a platform opposing increasingly unpopular eurozone spending cuts. Obama, who is hosting the Camp David summit, said he and Hollande agreed the issue was of "extraordinary importance" to the world economy. Fear and confusion rule as Greece faces uncertain future "Greece must stay in the eurozone," Hollande insisted during his meeting with Obama. We all "must do what we can to that effect." On Sunday, the war in Afghanistan is expected to dominate discussions at the NATO summit. Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Zardari are both expected to attend the meeting. NATO's post-Afghanistan future unclear NATO leaders are currently on a timetable to withdraw all of the alliance's combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014. Senior administration officials tell CNN that NATO members have tentatively agreed on a security transition plan from NATO's International Security Assistance Force to the Afghan National Security Forces before 2014. The plan, which also lays out a NATO training and advisory role after 2014, is expected to be formally adopted at the summit. One of the key issues to be discussed in Chicago is who will pay to build up Afghan security forces during and after the NATO drawdown. Afghan national security forces should total around 350,000 by 2015, according to CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen. Karzai's government can afford to cover only a fraction of the cost, which is expected to total roughly $4 billion annually after 2014, Bergen notes. Non-U.S. ISAF countries are being asked to come up with $1.3 billion, the officials said. Another issue is Islamabad's continued blockade of much-needed NATO supplies over Pakistani roads to Afghanistan. Pakistan has kept its airspace open but closed its ground routes after the death of about two dozen Pakistani soldiers in November at the hands of NATO forces at a post on the Afghan-Pakistan border. NATO insists that the incident was an accident. Negotiations on the issue continue, the senior administration officials said. Obama officials are also pushing for more Pakistani involvement in peace talks with the Taliban. The United States also expects Hollande to announce the removal of French combat troops from Afghanistan -- a position he asserted during the presidential campaign. Ross Rice, an official with the Chicago FBI, said officials "expect the worst and hope for the best" over the weekend as the NATO summit approaches. That "is the way to characterize how the weekend plays out." The Cook County State's Attorney's Office has charged three out-of-state men for allegedly traveling to Chicago "to commit acts of domestic terrorism during the NATO Summit." CNN's Peter Bergen, Alan Silverleib, Elise Labott, Mike Mount and Ted Rowlands contributed to this report.