Leaders of the industrial world meeting for their annual summit are close to agreement on a plan to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, a senior US official said today.
The official who spoke on condition of anonymity said a deal was "imminent" on a proposal that would, among other things, suspend for one year all new transfers of equipment for uranium enrichment and reprocessing.
The G8 summit, hosted by US President George W. Bush on Sea Island off the Georgia coast, is likely to be dominated by the future of Iraq and a US push to promote democratic and economic reforms in the Middle East.
The official told reporters the weapons deal would include endorsement of a UN resolution to criminalize proliferation activity and would suggest reforms at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
New Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar is to attend the summit for discussions on his country and the broader Middle East. He will have a bilateral meeting with Mr Bush tomorrow.
The saturation deployment of security forces around Sea Island and the town of Savannah 120 kilometres away where most media are based appeared to have deterred protesters who have in the past seized on such events to push their causes.
In the only legally approved demonstration in Savannah, about 200 people ranging from civil rights activists to young anarchists with masks and anti-abortion campaigners marched to denounce the war in Iraq, the US Patriot Act on domestic security and G8 policies which they said benefited the rich and hurt the poor.