The nuclear dispute with Iran and disarmament issues will be high on the agenda when the foreign ministers of the G8 countries meet later Monday in Gatineau, near Ottawa, dpa reported.
Even before the meeting started Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon called for more pressure on Tehran. He said the international community was "left with little choice but to pursue additional sanctions against Iran, ideally through the United Nations Security Council."
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has emphasized the need to take a hard line against Tehran, saying a nuclear-armed Iran would massively endanger the global system of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. He said the international community cannot accept that prospect.
Canada is this year's president of the Group of 8 leading industrial nations - the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Canada and Russia.
Russia has leaned more towards supporting the push by the US, France, Britain - plus Germany - to adopt new sanctions against Iran through the UN Security Council. But China, the UN panel's fifth veto-empowered member, has resisted sanctions in favour of further talks, although there were indications of some changes in Beijing's stance, diplomats said.