Canada did not attempt to block G8 efforts to set out clear commitments for humanitarian aid to Africa, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday.
Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the meetings in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm, Germany, Harper dismissed the suggestion that he was personally responsible for the lack of wording on accountability.
"I can say with absolute certainty that Canada was not blocking anything on this," Harper said during the final news conference of the meetings in Germany.
"We happen to believe that when it comes to aid moneys, that the whole framework of accountability is very important. This was something we discussed this morning when we had our outreach meeting with the African leaders."
Harper also said the unnamed spokespeople who said he had blocked the wording were speaking for themselves, not for a particular government.
Musicians Bono and Bob Geldof are among those upset with the position the G8 took on African aid. Leaders agreed to $60 billion in aid, but set out no clear timelines as to when it will be delivered, only specifying delivery will happen "over the coming years."
The musicians said much of the $60 billion intended to fight HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases is old money, already promised but not yet delivered.
"I can't believe that Canada has become a laggard," Bono told reporters.
Geldof singled out the prime minister, saying: "I think a man called Stephen Harper came to Heiligendamm, but Canada stayed at home."
The leaders were without U.S. President George Bush on Friday, who fell ill and stayed in his room. He held a private meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The aid meeting, chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, also involved the presidents of Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria.
"It was a very candid and open discussion," Merkel said afterward. "We said that on behalf of the countries of the G8, that we are aware of our obligations and we would like to fulfill the promises that we entered into and we are going to do that."
Earlier in the day, Germany's development minister said that G8 leaders had approved $60 billion to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said about half of the funding was made up of money pledged earlier by the U.S. with other nations contributing the rest.
Diplomats confirmed that the U.S. money was the same $30 billion announced by Bush last month, the BBC reported.
Heavy criticism
The announcement comes amid criticism from anti-poverty activists that the G8 countries have not kept their promise -- made at the Gleneagles summit in 2005 -- to increase aid to poor countries by $50 billion.
Anti-poverty and aid groups say that pledge has fallen short by US$30 billion. Both Canada and Italy have been singled out for allegedly attempting to keep a renewed call for African aid off the G8 radar this year.
The anti-poverty group Oxfam noted Friday that only a fraction of the newly promised aid was new money since the figure included previously announced funds.
"The new money announced today is important in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to provide education for all, but it should be seen for what it is: a small step when we need giant leaps," the group said in a statement.
Steve Cockburn of the Stop AIDS Campaign also said the pledge, including the $30 billion from the United States, is largely money which has already been announced.
"While lives will be saved with more money for AIDS, this represents a cap on ambition that will ultimately cost millions more lives," he told Reuters.
Cockburn said the money also falls short of UN targets, which demand the G8 nations to spend $15 billion annually to combat AIDS alone through 2010.
Kosovo
Meanwhile, the G8 leaders were unable to agree on the future of the province of Kosovo -- whose Albanian majority is pushing for independence from Serbia through a UN vote.
Russia, which backs Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo, has rejected France's attempt to secure Moscow's approval of the move towards independence.
The territory has been under UN control for eight years and a draft Western resolution at the UN would clear the way for independence.
Sarkozy had sought to persuade Moscow to approve the move in exchange for a six month delay of the UN vote, which Russia has threatened to veto.
Sarkozy said the delay would only occur if Russia recognized "the unavoidable prospect" of independence for Kosovo.
"There was no progress on Kosovo," Sarkozy said Friday.
Merkel said there was no reason to hold off on the UN vote unless a compromise was in the offing.
"There is no point in waiting for the sake of it. We have to have a clear idea of how we go forward," she said.
With a report from CTV's Graham Richardson in Germany and files from The Associated Press
