G8 tells Iran to respect human rights

TRIESTE, Italy, June 26 (UPI) -- The Group of Eight issued a statement Friday deploring the post-election violence in Iran and calling on Iranian authorities to respect human rights.

Foreign ministers from Italy and France wanted a stronger statement from the G8, the world's eight leading economic powers, which is holding a three-day meeting in the northern Italian town of Trieste, the BBC reports.

"We express our solidarity with those who have suffered repression while peacefully demonstrating," the joint statement said.

It stopped short of outright condemnation of the government of Iran or questioning the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, the BBC said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the G8 against isolating the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He said the main task was to move forward toward resolving the issues of Iran's nuclear program.

The Trieste conference is the first high-level meeting of leading Western countries since violence erupted in Iran after the June 12 election.