G8 ends with $20B food security pledge

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 (UPI) -- The Group of Eight summit in Italy ended Friday with an ambitious $20 billion food security pledge to developing nations.

The G8 nations promised the money -- $5 billion more than anticipated -- over three years to finance agriculture projects in poor countries and help fight hunger and food price volatility. Initiated by Washington, the aid package would provide farmers in poor nations with seeds, fertilizers and machinery to increase food production. Aid groups lauded the commitment but urged nations to keep their aid promises after some had reneged on them in years past.

G8 leaders failed to convince major developing nations such as India and China to commit to halving global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

And not much else was achieved in Italy: Talks about the financial crisis and the volatile oil price ended without results.

G8 leaders followed closely the ongoing violent crackdown on opposition demonstrators in Iran.

Thursday was marred by clashes between protesters and security forces, with demonstrators, fearing death, saying goodbye to their families ahead of taking the streets in protest, one woman told al-Jazeera TV.

G8 leaders drafted a joint statement urging Iran to allow for peaceful protests and set a September deadline for the Islamic Republic to re-enter into negotiations with the West over its controversial nuclear program.

U.S. President Barack Obama said he hoped that Tehran would accept his offer for direct negotiations, the first of a U.S. leader in many years.

"If Iran chooses not to walk through that door, then you have on record the G8, to begin with, but I think potentially a lot of other countries that are going to say we need to take further steps," Obama said. "We also say we're not going to just wait indefinitely and allow for the development of a nuclear weapon, the breach of international treaties, and wake up one day and find ourselves in a much worse situation and unable to act."

The summit had been preceded by rumors that Italy had done few things right when it came to organizing it. Moreover, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi had been burdened by a domestic sex scandal. But G8 politicians and analysts on Friday largely praised the 72-year-old's handling of the summit, which he moved to L'Aquila to draw attention to the earthquake-troubled mountain city.