The St. Petersburg G-8 summit was expected to be dominated by one central topic: the politics of energy. Russia's recent resurgence on the international stage has benefited in part from its huge deposits of natural resources and rising energy prices. Russia's new-found economic strength has in turn allowed it to put pressure on its neighbors -- most recently Ukraine -- which has Europe and the United States concerned about questions of energy security.
But the unfolding crisis in the Middle East pre-empted the G-8 agenda with leaders focusing their attentions on how best to bring an end to hostilities and secure a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel. On Sunday night, all parties signed up to an agreement calling for an end to attacks on both sides and there were calls for the deployment of a UN force in southern Lebanon to keep the peace. The cautious agreement was a surprise given G-8 nations' divergent views on Middle Eastern policy. The US has continually insisted on Israel's right of self-defense, while France has accused Israel of a disproportionate response to the kidnapping of two of its soldiers by Hezbollah.
Nevertheless, the summit is already being branded a disappointment, after participating nations failed to reach agreement on key economic issues. Russia has once again been refused entry into the World Trade Organization while debates about trade, state subsidies and import duties remain as divisive as ever. Furthermore, Russian President Vladimir Putin's barbed press conference remarks about the ongoing corruption investigation into British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, and failing US democratization of Iraq, have left the impression that there is no love lost between world leaders in St Petersburg.
A central point of contention in the German press Monday, is the perceived success or failure of the G-8 summit for Russia's international status. Conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung considers the transformative role of Russia as a global player and believes hosting the G-8 has been a major victory for the Russians. "President Putin is staging the St. Petersburg summit in a downright breathtaking manner... This was not about the emergence of a complex pretender, who at long last wanted to show himself to be on an equal footing [with the other G8 nations]. Rather, Putin's aim was to show why he is now the boss."
"Putin's new found strength is "based on the raw material wealth of the country, whose role has become a central security policy commodity in St. Petersburg," the paper writes. "Before the meeting, Putin said what needed saying, so that it would be understood how he defined this role: more as a weapon of realpolitik than as a currency of partnership."
But, despite the Russian resurgence, there remain intractable disputes, particularly between Russia and the United States. "East and West are poles apart on Iraq, which isn't a good sign for discussions over Iran," the editorial continues. "For the time being regions such as the festering Caucasus and unstable Ukraine which were 'frozen' for years [during the Cold War], are now under pressure from both the Russians and Americans in an attempt to bring them into the protective sphere of their respective national ambitions."
Left-wing Die Tagezeitung also focuses its commentary on Russia, particularly the West's refusal to grant the country membership of the World Trade Organization. "After 13 years of negotiations, a decisive agreement between the United States and Russia remains elusive. President Putin can greet the most recent failure with a shrug of the shoulders, because it remains unclear, whether it was really to Russia's benefit to join the WTO. After all, he would have had to open the Russian internal market to foreign competitors, which would many Russian sectors would not have survived," the paper believes.
"Putin can relax, for even without the WTO, his country is getting rich thanks to its huge energy reserves. On this basis alone, the Kremlin chief wants to double Russian gross domestic product within the next ten years... For this he doesn't need the WTO, rather bilateral agreements. At the same time, Putin will thwart the US strategy of putting the Russian government under pressure by ruling out Russian entry into the WTO."
The consequences are much worse for the reputation of the WTO, according to the editorial. "For five years, industrial and developing nations have been negotiating, without a result, over punitive custom duties and subsidies. The talks are heading down a cul-de-sac more rapidly now than they were before." For Russia, the paper explains, the country's mooted entry into the WTO would have been a big gamble. For the Russian government would have feared, "that economic liberalization would bring about an unwanted political liberalization."
Financial Times Deutschland is less convinced the Russian leader has claimed the upper hand in St. Petersburg: Pointedly, it's editorial is entitled, "Cancelled: the Putin Show." The paper believes that the summit so far can be reduced to the ambitions and tribulations of two powers. "On one side stands a US president under political attack, who appears to clueless with regards to international crises. On the other side stands host Vladimir Putin: Russia's leader has been strengthened by high energy prices and a new-found foreign policy confidence, who in the face of George W. Bush's weaknesses, he gladly uses to profile himself as a crisis manager."
"But measured by this pretence, the summit has been failure for Putin. The original planned themes for the meeting, above all cooperation on energy issues, have been reduced to a sideshow by the escalation in the Middle East. Instead came vague declarations of intent on nuclear energy and market transparency, which are non-binding and won't really improve things."
Business daily Handelsblatt agrees the St. Petersburg summit has been derailed by events in the Middle East. The editorial focuses on Angel Merkel's recent charm offensive, firstly in hosting the US president in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and then at the G-8 summit, where she hoped to play the role of intermediary between the US and Russia. Merkel has previously been lauded for her first forays into international diplomacy, with praise for her warm, outgoing style.
But, this time round Germany has been isolated over it decision to rule out using nuclear power, due to a coalition commitment by Merkel's government and deeply ingrained native opposition to atomic power -- the only country at the G-8 meeting to do so. With George W. Bush defending Israel's right of self-defense, and Russia emphasising Arab security interests, the middle ground is very narrow, the paper suggests. For Angela Merkel the honeymoon is over. Referring to Germany's condemnation of Hezbollah and support of Israeli self-defense, the paper concludes, "The politics of the smile and mediation have failed, because the chancellor -- given Germany's history -- has to come out in support of the US president."
