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| G8 foreign ministers fail to agree on Syria |
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.jpg) LONDON - Foreign ministers from the G8 group of rich countries -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia -- failed to patch up deep divisions over Syria during a meeting in London on Thursday.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking after talks with his counterparts, said the world had done too little to try to resolve Syria's two-year-old conflict, Reuters reported.
"The United Nations Security Council has not fulfilled its responsibilities because it is divided. That division continues. Have we solved that division at this meeting? No. We didn't expect to do so," Hague told reporters. "The world has failed so far in its responsibilities and continues to do so."
Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Damascus says outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorists are the driving factor behind the unrest and deadly violence while the opposition accuses the security forces of being behind the killings.
Western states have been calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down. However, Russia and China are strongly opposed to the Western drive to oust Assad.
The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the armed militants are foreign nationals, mostly from Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.
North Korea's threats of war were also high on the agenda of the ministers' talks in London.
In a communiqué issued after the meeting, foreign ministers from the G8 urged North Korea to "refrain from further provocative acts".
"If the DPRK (North Korea) conducts another missile launch, or nuclear test, we have committed ourselves to take further significant measures," Hague said, without giving more details.
A U.S. official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the ministers had discussed the role of China in addressing North Korea's threats.
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