During President Clinton's farewell Group of Eight summit, the star...

During President Clinton's farewell Group of Eight summit, the star of the show was the group's newcomer Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following his recent trip to North Korea, Mr. Putin presented G-8 leaders with a tantalizing but vague offer from North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to halt missile development in exchange for Western space technology. Mr. Putin also proposed ways to assist the Middle East peace process, which had been left simmering at Camp David while Mr. Clinton attended the three-day meeting in Japan. Additionally, Mr. Putin suggested that G-8 leaders communicate via email, marking his latest attempt to dissuade Mr. Clinton from proceeding with a national missile-defense program that the U.S. says is primarily designed to protect against a North Korean threat.

Saturday, 22 July, 2000