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GUEST: John Cavanaugh, Director of the Institute for Policy Studies

The annual summit of the leaders of the Group of Eight countries or G8, ended yesterday in St. Petersburg, Russia. The G8 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Together, these countries represent about 65% of the world economy. It was hoped by some that this year’s meeting would give stalled WTO negotiations a shot in the arm. Among other things, the summit leaders at this year’s meeting promoted greater investment in fossil fuels. Additionally, the organization, Action Aid said that the huge pledges of aid, debt relief and trade reforms that were promised at last year’s G8 conference at Gleneagles have not been delivered. Meanwhile, Russian president Vladmir Putin’s main goal was to “improve Russia’s image and to demonstrate to both Russians and the world that Russia has restored its status as a superpower,” according to one analyst.