Obama was due to depart Washington Saturday afternoon for a trip that also includes stops in the Philippines and Malaysia.
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Although Obama won’t meet individually with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the two leaders will cross paths in Manila, amid ongoing tensions over China’s territorial claims in disputed waters off its coast. The White House says it has planned time for what it calls “people-to-people” exchanges.
Despite Obama’s vow to isolate Putin in retaliation for Russian aggression in Ukraine, the president agreed to meet with his longtime foe in NY earlier this year to discuss Syria.
“But I don’t think anybody expects a single outcome that all of a sudden readily resolves all of these hard issues”, Rice said. In Antalya, Obama will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party pulled off a surprise victory in recent elections but who faces criticism for a crackdown on media freedoms.
Concerning a meeting with Putin, it will be the first in about two months since they met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly held in NY in September. The US has not yet said whether it believes the group is responsible for the carnage.
Every facet of the re-balance is aimed at advancing this vision, she said adding that the USA is working to promote it on multiple fronts that you will see as evident during the course of the trip.
“The US and Turkey do not align on the dimension of the Syrian campaign”, Conley said. Those talks are expected to explore ways to intensify the campaign.
Their discussions coincide with a new offensive by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces to retake the Iraqi city of Sinjar from Islamic State. Ms. Rice cited the effort as part of Mr. Obama’s broader attempt to intensify the fight against terror group.
More 250,000 people have been killed in the clashes between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. “The President will discuss concrete actions to strengthen the global economy, to make growth more inclusive, to enhance the resilience of the worldwide financial system, mobilise investment to raise long term growth, and implement previous commitments on economic reform and labor markets”, said Susan Rice, the US National Security Advisor, ahead of the President’s week-long Asia trip.
“The Russians certainly have their ideas”.
The interplay between the two, how other leaders respond to them, and whether there is any agreement on a way forward in Syria will be a focus of summit attention.
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Obama’s aims to consolidate support under American leadership have been tested by a newly empowered Vladimir Putin of Russian Federation, who is also scheduled to attend the summit.
