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Taking part in the meeting were Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter McCay, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema, as well as EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Ursula Plassnik, Foreign Minister of Austria, which currently holds the EU presidency.

Earlier in the day the G8 foreign ministers examined the whole spectrum of items on the G8’s political agenda.

Attention focused particularly on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and in this context discussions took place on the Iranian nuclear programme and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

The G8 foreign ministers also gave special attention to the situation in the Middle East in light of the recent flare-up in relations between Palestine and Israel, and they reaffirmed their support for the position adopted by the quartet of mediators – Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.