G8 lambastes Zimbabwe, talks of fresh sanctions

KYOTO, Japan (Reuters) - G8 nations lambasted Zimbabwe on Friday as it voted in a one-man run-off for the presidency, and the United States said the U.N. Security Council may consider fresh sanctions on the African country next week.

"We deplore the actions of the Zimbabwean authorities -- systematic violence, obstruction and intimidation -- which have made a free and fair presidential run-off election impossible," the Group of Eight rich countries' foreign ministers said in a statement after a two-day meeting in Kyoto, Japan.

Defying world condemnation, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe pressed on with the vote on Friday even though opposition contender Morgan Tsvangirai, accusing the authorities of violence and intimidation, had withdrawn.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking to reporters after the G8 meeting, branded Friday's vote "a sham".

"There was a strong sentiment in that room today that what is going on in Zimbabwe is simply unacceptable in the 21st century and it can't be ignored by the international community," she said.

She said the U.N. Security Council would discuss next week tightening the West's array of sanctions on Zimbabwe, whose economy is already in a state of collapse.

The G8 said Zimbabwe's first round of voting, in March, when Tsvangirai beat Mugabe but did not secure an outright majority, must be respected, and it would not accept the legitimacy of a government that did not reflect the will of the people.

Officials said the ministers' decision to release a separate statement on Zimbabwe underlined their determination to send a strong message to Harare.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters that he wanted discussions within the European Union on withdrawing national ambassadors from Zimbabwe.

NORTH KOREA: VERIFY FIRST

Zimbabwe dominated the second day of the meeting in Japan's ancient capital, just as North Korea's declaration of its nuclear activities had overshadowed the opening of the talks on Thursday.

The ministers agreed that verifying North Korea's account was crucial, and rallied behind Japan over the unresolved question of its citizens abducted by Pyongyang agents decades ago.

Pyongyang's statement prompted a wary U.S. President George W. Bush to ease some sanctions on a state he once branded as part of an "axis of evil".

The mood was just as cautious in Kyoto, where Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said "it is not a game of trusting North Korea, but a game of verification".

U.S. officials say the secretive state's declaration fell short of answering all concerns about its ambitions and its past nuclear proliferation activities.

The United States said on Thursday it would take North Korea off its terrorism blacklist and ease some sanctions. Japan, a close U.S. security ally, had previously expressed concern about delisting the communist state before resolving the issue of the Japanese citizens to help train spies.

In a nod to Japan's concerns, the G8 ministers urged Pyongyang to move quickly to resolve the abduction issue.

The ministers also discussed Iran's determination to pursue a nuclear program in the face of U.N. resolutions to halt it. Washington and its allies suspect Iran wants to make nuclear arms but Tehran denies this.

This month the West handed Iran an offer of trade and other benefits designed to persuade it to curb its nuclear work and end a row that has helped push oil prices to record highs.

"We call on Iran to respond to the updated incentives package in a constructive manner," the ministers said in a statement.

They also called on Tehran to act in "a more responsible and constructive manner in the region", singling out the Middle East peace process and the need for stability in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Additional reporting by Sophie Hardach and Isabel Reynolds; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Rodney Joyce)