TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and British counterpart Gordon Brown agreed Monday that the Group of Eight industrialized nations should send a strong message about Zimbabwe's political chaos.
"We should send out a strong message to protect the democracy of Zimbabwe," Brown told Fukuda, according to a senior official who briefed reporters on the bilateral meeting.
The G8 nations are considering drafting a separate statement on Zimbabwe. Sharing Brown's concern, Fukuda said the G8 nations should consider ways to respond to Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's victory in a one-man runoff election last month, the official said.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew from the election at the last minute, saying violence against his supporters had made a free and fair vote impossible.
In a separate meeting with Fukuda, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she is "strongly interested in" the situation of Zimbabwe and noted the G8 leaders should discuss it during the summit, the official said.
Fukuda and the two leaders separately agreed to make utmost efforts to work toward a beneficial outcome on global warming, the official said.
Government officials refused to comment further on details of their discussion "because it is currently under negotiation."