The deadly terrorist attacks that rocked London as Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) plus five opened their summit in the Scottish resort of Gleneagles on Thursday did not derail the meeting, but prompted the leaders to reassess the grave threat of terrorism and vow to take a united stand in the war on terror.

Summit undaunted by "barbaric" blasts

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the host of the G8 summit, has long set two topics for the summit: aid to Africa and climate changes. However, as the news of four almost simultaneous explosions ripping through three subway stations and a double-decker bus in London was spread to Gleneagles, anti-terrorism grabbed the leaders' attention right away.

The leaders immediately adopted a joint statement to condemn the massive attacks which left more than 50 people dead and 700 others injured.

Blair, who denounced the bombings as "barbaric," rushed back to London to handle some emergent issues, leaving the summit to go on with its unchanged agenda.

On the second day of the summit, the leaders put anti-terrorism on the agenda and concluded the meeting with a 4-page statement on determination to intensify the global fight against terror. In worldwide responses, many countries and international organizations joined the anti-terror protest and expressed sympathy towards the victims.

Common stand rarely seen since terror attacks in US

Following the London bombings, leaders of the eight most developed countries and five important developing countries as
well as the international community at large were united to condemn terrorism and voiced determination to fight terrorism, a unity rarely seen since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

However, a series of hindrances may continue to stand in the way of forging a strong international alliance in the anti-terror campaign.

For one thing, the practice of "double standards" still prevails in defining terrorist organizations, which cripples the
joint fight against terrorism. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the summit that the international community should "find all ways" to remove "any double standards whatsoever."

Moreover, substantial cooperation among judicial and security departments in different countries, especially the sharing of intelligence in the war against terrorism, is still lacking. A British journalist told Xinhua that the London terrorist attacks demonstrated that "this is another failure of intelligence department."

Solidarity regains momentum

Following the July 7 London terrorist attacks, the G8 summit unprecedentedly adopted two statements within two days in a high-profile call for better international cooperation in fighting terrorism.

"Solidarity" is a key word stressed repeatedly at the summit. "We stand with Britain" with "full solidarity," declared French President Jacques Chirac, who had previously quarreled with Blair over issues like the Iraq war.

"At a time when our countries were hit by a tragic terrorist attack, we demonstrated during these two days that dialogue and solidarity can prevail over violence and fanaticism," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Putin said the international community should "do everything to resist terror, to resist together and find in ourselves the strength to uproot this plague of the 21st century once and for all."

While reaffirming anti-terror solidarity, the G8 statement said measures would be taken to prevent new generations of terrorists, minimize the consequences of attacks, build international capacity and "enhance international partnership."

As Britain is now holding the EU presidency, observers believe Blair will take the opportunity to enhance the international cooperation, including intelligence sharing, in the global fight against terrorism.