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L'Aquila Statement on Political Issues, Excerpts on Iran and North Korea, 9 July 2009.
Heads of State and Government of the G8 countries continue to be seriously concerned about recent events in Iran. We reiterate our full respect for the sovereignty of Iran. At the same time, we deplore post-electoral violence, which led to the loss of lives of Iranian civilians. Interference with media, unjustified detentions of journalists and recent arrests of foreign nationals are unacceptable. We call upon Iran to solve the situation through democratic dialogue on the basis of the rule of law and we remind it of its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
We agreed that Embassies in Iran must be permitted to exercise their functions effectively under the Vienna Convention, without arbitrary restrictions on, or intimidation of, their staff.
We remain committed to finding a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran's nuclear program and of Iran's continued failure to meet its international obligations. We welcome the readiness of the U.S. to enter into direct talks and the invitation from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States to Iran to restart negotiations, as well as the constructive involvement of other G8 partners in the process. We stress the need for unity of action on the basis of agreed policy. We sincerely hope that Iran will seize this opportunity to give diplomacy a chance to find a negotiated solution to the nuclear issue. At the same time we remain deeply concerned over proliferation risks posed by Iran's nuclear programme. We recognise that Iran has the right to a civilian nuclear programme, but that comes with the responsibility to restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. We strongly urge Iran to cooperate fully with the IAEA and to comply with the relevant UNSC Resolutions, without further delay. The G8 meeting on the margin of the United Nations General Assembly opening week next September will be an occasion to take stock of the situation.
We condemn the declarations of President Ahmadinejad denying the Holocaust...
We condemn in the strongest terms the DPRK's nuclear test on 25 May and the launch using ballistic missile technology on 5 April in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718/2006. We also strongly condemn the most recent launches by the DPRK on 4 July, despite UNSC Resolution 1874/2009. These activities pose a danger to peace and stability in the region and beyond.
We urge the DPRK to fully comply with its international obligations. In this context, we support the unanimous adoption of the Resolution 1874/2009 of the Security Council which reinforces international sanctions towards the DPRK and call upon the international community to implement fully and transparently the provisions of that Resolution.
We urge the DPRK to refrain from further violations of relevant Security Council Resolutions and to engage in dialogue and cooperation, including the early resumption of the Six Party Talks. In this regard, we emphasize the importance of the full implementation of the Joint Statement of 19 September 2005, including the abandonment of all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs by DPRK. We recognise the need for all participants to take measures as agreed in this format.
We also urge the DPRK to take prompt actions to address the concerns of the international community on humanitarian matters, including the abduction issue.
Source: G8 L'Aquila Summit website, www.g8italia2009.it.