Syria tops the agenda as G8 foreign ministers gather for talks Wednesday in London.
Britain and France are expected to continue their push to lift a European Union arms embargo and allow shipments of weapons to rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Some EU members worry that a flood of weapons would only worsen the Syrian crisis.
Syrian opposition officials are also in London, and are due to hold talks on the sidelines of the meeting with some of the ministers, including British Foreign Secretary William Hague and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Hague says the discussion with the opposition is aimed at finding a political solution to the crisis and meeting humanitarian needs.
The Group of Eight (the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia) will also consider tensions on the Korean peninsula,preventing sexual violence in war zones, cyber security, and issues involving Burma and Somalia.