G8 Summit Day 1: Russia raises Libyan bombing issue, offers to mediate

On the first day conclusion of the G8 Summit, the presidents of the European Commission and council and the leaders of the Group of eight countries seemed primary to be focusing on the political situation in Middle East and North Africa, the debt crisis within EU and Japan's post-quake reconstruction, reported news.xinhuanet.com on Friday.

The Libyan conflict stayed high on the agenda for G8 leaders, though differences were evident over the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's future.

France insisted Gaddafi should leave, saying the earlier he goes, the more choices he has, whereas Russia said the NATO bombing campaign has gone too far. In the summit, Russia announced that its Western partners in the G8 have asked it to take on a mediation role in resolving the crisis.

Japan Prime Minister Naoto Kan gave an account of the current situation of the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant and called for global cooperation in enhancing nuclear safety.

There was a consensus among the G8 leaders on more stringent international rules to maintain nuclear safety. Also, the participants agreed to conduct stress tests on nuclear reactors to test their resilience to earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Incidentally, the much-debated IMF chief's post was not taken up in the meet. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the decision on who will lead the IMF is not up to the G8, and said that the topic will not be even discussed at the summit during the session in Deauville, said the report.

The two-day summit will wind up on Friday.