France pledges support for U.S. anti-terrorism package
But nations may differ on approaches
June 27, 1996
Web posted at: 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT)LYON, France (CNN) -- As the annual G-7 summit got under way Thursday, President Clinton said he hoped leaders of the seven richest industrial nations would back 40 U.S. proposals to fight terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and nuclear smuggling.
The summit in Lyon, France, opened two days after a terrorist bombing at a U.S. military complex in Saudi Arabia killed 19 U.S. servicemen and injured nearly 400 people.
Clinton and French President Jacques Chirac, the summit's host, agreed they and the other "group of seven" leaders from Japan, Germany, Britain, Italy and Canada should show a united front against terrorism, French spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said.
Chirac offered Clinton France's condolences for what he called a cowardly terrorist attack.
Asked if there was any way to prevent this type of attack and why the troops were not better protected, Clinton responded, "The bomb was just bigger than anyone calculated could be gotten that close to the building."
The 40 recommendations prepared by experts since last year's G-7 summit in Halifax, Canada, include measures to increase police and intelligence cooperation. French officials said that would stem the flow of weapons and funds to outlaws and make it harder for them to cross borders with fake identity documents.
Nations' methods may differ
Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and British Prime Minister John Major said they agreed with putting terrorism at the top of the three-day summit's agenda.
But diplomats said there could be differences over how to deal with countries such as Iran, Libya and Syria which Washington accuses of sponsoring terrorism.
France, Britain and Germany have acted recently to break up Muslim fundamentalist guerrilla networks linked to the Middle East and North Africa.
However, officials anticipate sharp debate on U.S. legislation on trade barriers for nations such as Iraq, Iran, Cuba and Libya. The other G-7 countries oppose such embargoes.
On Friday, the leaders are to focus on economic issues, including jobs, welfare and financial markets.
They are expected to discuss a major debt-relief package for the world's 40 poorest nations, call for the continuation of economic reform in Russia and debate how to maintain peace in Bosnia.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Clinton expects G-7 action to fight terrorism - June 27, 1996
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- G-7 leaders assemble amid protests, renewed concern about terrorism - June 27, 1996
- Yeltsin to skip G-7 conference - June 19, 1996
- G-7 expresses concerns about global economy, Russia - January 21, 1996
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