President Barack Obama, at his press conference after the end of the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, focused on the environment, global economy, and international security. As for Iran, he reiterated the deep concern of the international community over the extreme violence against demonstrations and stated that the door for negotiation is open to Tehran until September, when the G20 Summit will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the US.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please, everybody have a seat. I apologize for being a little bit late. Good afternoon.

We have just concluded the final session of what has been a highly productive summit here in L’Aquila. And before I discuss what we’ve achieved these past three days, I’d like to take a moment to express my thanks to Prime Minister Berlusconi, his staff, the people of Italy for their extraordinary hospitality and hard work in setting up this summit. And particularly I want to thank the people of L’Aquila for welcoming us to your home at this difficult time. We’ve seen how you’ve come together and taken care of each other, and we’ve been moved by your courage and your resilience and your kindness.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Barack Obama, Brazil, China, Dmitri Medvedev, G20 Summit, G8 Summit, Global Nuclear Summit, Gordon Brown, India, International Monetary Fund, Iran, Italy, Kenya, L'Aquila, Latin America, Libya, NATO, Non-Proliferation Treaty, North Korea, Russia, Silvio Berlusconi, South Africa, South Korea, United Nations, US Congress, World Trade Organization