German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Monday that Germany, which holds the rotating EU presidency, will battle "to the last minute" to win the U.S. support for an ambitious initiative on climate change at the upcoming G8 summit.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hamburg, Steinmeier admitted that differences still remain between Germany and the United States concerning binding benchmarks and targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but it remains open whether the two sides can narrow their difference with just a few days left before the G8 summit.

"I believe that there will be fight to the last minute," said Steinmeier.

According to a report by German news agency dpa, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet U.S. President George W. Bush next week in order to forge an agreement on climate change at a summit of the G8 leading industrialized countries to be held in the German Baltic resort of Heiligendamm on June 6-8.

A new round of talks will be held this week between senior officials from the eight nations in a attempt to bridge last minute differences, according the report.

The United States raised objections to a proposed declaration on global warming to be issued during the summit hosted by Merkel.

The sources said the negotiations were extremely difficult, but said they had not been broken down, adding Germany is still pushing for concessions.

The German government has taken the fight against climate change one of the priorities of Germany's presidencies of the Group of Eight (G-8) and European Union.

Comments on a document released by the environmental group Greenpeace said the United States is preparing to block a declaration on climate change at the summit.

The G-8 includes Japan, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the United States.

On the same day, German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel and visiting U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for rapid action to combat the dangers brought about by climate change.

They said after talks in Berlin that the American public opinion on the issue was further advanced than that of the Bush administration.

Gabriel said his country would continue to make efforts to see that the U.S. "lives up to its international responsibilities" on global warming.

Source: Xinhua