BUSH SAYS ISRAEL HAS 'EVERY RIGHT' TO DEFEND ITSELF

Sun Jul 16, 4:06 AM ET

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) - US President George W. Bush said here that Israel had "every right to defend itself" against attack from militants backed by Iran and Syria but must be "mindful of the consequences."

"As a sovereign nation, Israel has every right to defend itself against terrorist activity," Bush said after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair here. "Our message to Israel is defend yourself but be mindful of the consequences."

The US leader, who was meeting Blair on the sidelines of the G8 summit of world leaders in Saint Petersburg, said the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, "was the start of this."

"One of the interesting things about this recent flare-up is that it helps clarify the root cause of instability in the Middle East and ...that Hezbollah, Hezbollah's relationship with Syria and Hezbollah's relationship with Iran and Syria's relationship with Iran.

"Therefore in order to solve this problem it's really important for the world to address the root cause."

Bush was later to join the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia for a Group of Eight summit, where the Israeli offensives and fears of a wider regional conflagration have forced their way to the top of the agenda.

Blair concurred with Bush but pointed his finger of blame more directly at Tehran and Damascus, while not once referring to Hezbollah by name.

"Sometimes there's been a hesitation in putting the real truth of the situation up there in front of people," said the British leader, who is Bush's staunchest ally in Europe.

"The fact is there are people in that region -- notably Iran and Syria -- who do not want this process of democratisation and peace and negotiation to succeed," he said.

White House national security advisor Stephen Hadley said Saturday that Washington would try to persuade its G8 partners to agree to a statement blaming Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran and Syria for the violence.

The draft US officials are pushing should recognize Hezbollah as being "at the root of this problem," Hadley said, and also name the Palestinian militant group Hamas as well as Iran and Syria for supporting them.

"I think it is coming together," he said.

But Bush may find it a challenge to win a hard-hitting declaration targeting the militant groups, Syria and Iran, as several of his G8 partners have been harsher on Israel and have insisted that its response be "proportionate."

In a late-night appearance before journalists after an informal dinner opening the G8 summit on Saturday, Russin President Vladimir Putin said Israel appeared to be pursuing objectives beyond the return of soldiers captured by Hezbollah.

"We condemn all terrorist acts that involve kidnapping people," Putin said.

"But we have the impression that, besides rescuing the servicemen who have been abducted, Israel is pursuing other, wider objectives, and we hope that peaceful means will be found for resolving them," he said.

"Maximum effort must be made for peaceful resolution" of the crisis in the Middle East, Putin said, adding that "not all means have been exhausted" yet for doing so.