Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hosts a meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers at the Blair House today. The U.S. holds the G8 Presidency for 2012 and will host the G8 Summit at Camp David on May 18 - 19.
The G8 countries include: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Russia.
North Korea's plans to launch a missile some time this week will likely be one of the topics discussed by the foreign ministers who are gathering to work on economic and security issues. On Tuesday, Sec. Clinton warned North Korea that the missile launch would cause the U.S. to take "appropriate action" in the U.N. Security Council.
On Monday, State Department Press Spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters that the U.N. cease fire plan for Syria and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks were also likely to come up during the meeting.
Nuland indicated that members of the Quartet, an international alliance promoting peace in the Middle East, are scheduled to meet with Sec. Clinton on Wednesday morning before the G8 ministerial session. The Quartet is composed of the U.N., the U.S., the European Union and Russia.