Surprise! US Will Resist Moves By Germany Towards Climate Pact At G8 Summit - Reuters

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BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's bid to forge an international agreement on combating climate change at a G8 summit in June faces resistance from Washington, a German official signalled on Tuesday.

The comments, by top Group of Eight (G8) envoy Bernd Pfaffenbach, suggest Merkel faces a daunting diplomatic task over the coming weeks to convince Washington to back a climate deal she hopes will be the centrepiece of her G8 presidency.

Given at a briefing to a small group of reporters in Berlin, the remarks appeared intended to dampen expectations of a breakthrough at the June 6-8 summit in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm and to raise pressure on the White House ahead of a Monday meeting between Merkel and US President George W. Bush. "It is proving to be one of my toughest areas in the negotiations," Pfaffenbach said of the climate change issue.

"This is partly because of ... the reservations, if not resistance, from one particularly big country," he added, expressing frustration with the pre-summit talks.

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