RUSUTSU, Japan - The Group of Eight industrialized nations must speak out in one voice against the results of Zimbabwe's election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office said Sunday.
But any action flowing from this week's G8 meeting in Japan is unlikely to include sanctions against the Zimbabwean government.
The G8 leaders will likely use last week's statement by their foreign affairs ministers as a model for their own statement, a Japanese official said.
"This foreign ministers' statement will form a good basis for G8 leaders to discuss the G8 leaders' response on the ongoing situation in Zimbabwe," said Kazuo Kodama of Japan's foreign affairs ministry.
"This statement does not include any reference on sanctions."
The G8 foreign ministers called the actions of the Zimbabwean authorities deplorable and said they would "not accept the legitimacy of any government that does not reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people."
But the statement stopped short of threatening sanctions on Robert Mugabe's government.
Mugabe claimed victory in last month's roundly criticized presidential run-off ballot.
He was the only candidate in voting after opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled his name from the ballot following a campaign of threats, violence and abduction against his supporters.
Harper's office said the prime minister and his Japanese counterpart, Yasuo Fukuda, agreed "there is a need for a strong stand alone G8 statement on Zimbabwe."
Such a statement could be made as early as Monday, when G8 leaders meet with the heads of eight African countries and the chair of the African Union Commission.
