The foreign ministers urged Iran to respect human rights, including freedom of expression [AFP]

"We deplore post-electoral violence which led to the loss of  lives of Iranian civilians," the G8 foreign ministers said in a draft statement on Friday.

The ministers meeting in the northeastern city of Trieste urged Iran "to respect fundamental human rights including freedom of expression as ensured by the international treaties it has ratified".

They said the crisis in Iran "should be settled soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means".

"We call on the Iranian government to guarantee that the will of the Iranian people is reflected in the electoral process," the statement said.

'No fraud'

The G8's comments came as Iran's electoral watchdog said the June 12 election was the country's "healthiest" vote since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, rejecting opposition allegations of fraud.

"After 10 days of examination, we did not see any major irregularities," Abbasali Kadkhodai, spokesman for the Guardian Council, said.

"We have had no fraud in any presidential election and this one was the cleanest election we have had. I can say with certainty that there was no fraud in this election."

The statement leaves the opposition little room for further legal challenges over the election result, with the council previously rejecting a call for the vote to be annulled. 

The election results sparked protests in Tehran, the capital, that spilled into violent clashes between demonstrators and police and paramilitary forces.

Reports of the clashes led Italy, which had invited Iran to attend the three-day gathering, arguing its presence could help stabilise Afghanistan - due to be the focal point of the meeting, to retract its invitation.

The EU commisioner for external relations condemned the use of excessive force and urged for dialogue within Iran.

"I think it's a missed opportunity for the Iranian government," Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.

As the ministers opened the meeting, Franco Frattini, Italy's foreign minister, said the G8 was working on "a good document that would include condemnation ... but at the same time one that will recognise that electoral procedures are an Iranian question."

The statement is a compromise between countries that wanted to send a tough message to Iran over its suppression of mass street protests and use of violence and others, including Russia, who were careful to keep an avenue open for dialogue over its nuclear programme.

'Inciting protests'

More than 20 people have been killed and many more imprisoned in the protests that followed Iran's election -  the worst violence to sweep the country since 1979.

Iranian officials have accused two G8 members, Britain and the US, of inciting the protests and meddling with internal affairs.

Tehran has since said it is considering downgrading ties with Britain after it expelled two diplomats.

The UK followed suit by sending two Iranian diplomats home.

The G8 representatives, which also include France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and Russia, started the gathering with a working dinner at the Palazzo della Regione in the city.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister said that Russia was not prepared to sign up to a G8 statement condemning the election itself.

"No one is willing to condemn the election process, because it's an exercise in democracy," he said.

Devastated city

Lavrov also suggested that overt condemnation would undermine the more important goal of addressing Iran's nuclear programme.

The meeting, which was initially scheduled to focus on stabilising Afghanistan and moving the Middle East peace process forward, is also meant to lay the groundwork for the G8 summit in two weeks in L'Aquila, the central Italian city devastated by an earthquake in April.

Ministers from Afghanistan and Pakistan will join the G8 ministers later on Friday to discuss a regional approach to Afghanistan's challenges.

The quarter of Middle East peace negotiators - the UN, US, EU and Russia - will also meet on Friday.

The members are expected to back a call by Barack Obama, the US president, for a total freeze on Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank.

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