Negotiations to reach a peace deal in Syria are being hampered by “gaps of trust” between the United States and Russia, President Obama said Monday.
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President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for photographers as they shake hands before their meeting at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province, September 3, 2016.
“We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like, that would allow us both, the United States and Russian Federation, to focus our attention on common enemies like ISIL and Nusra”, Obama told reporters on Monday at the end of the forum in Hangzhou. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad’s military and the rebels, rather than another time-limited agreement like ones that failed before.
Putin said it was premature to give any details about the terms of a potential agreement, but said he felt a deal was really close.
“If we can not get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort”.
State Department officials have declined to elaborate on what the sticking points are preventing a deal, though the US official said the remaining differences revolved around how the plan would be implemented. Moscow and Washington support different sides in Syria’s festering conflict that has left 290,000 dead, with Russian Federation backing President Bashar al-Assad while the United States supports rebel groups fighting him.
Speaking to reporters in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, he said it was premature to give details about the terms of the agreement, but that Russian Federation would strengthen co-operation with the United States on fighting terrorism.
As the FBI investigates cyber attacks at the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, sources have attributed the attacks to Russian government-linked hackers, leading some to speculate that Putin is trying to influence the US election in Donald Trump’s favor.
While both Russian Federation and the U.S. are battling ISIL, Moscow supports President Assad ‘s forces, including with direct military intervention. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information.
Putin noted that Syria was high on the agenda of discussions during his meetings on the sideline of the summit and that Moscow would confer with the Syrian government on the progress of the talks and also inform Iran.
Tech tycoons at the business forum on Saturday that preceded the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, hailed the keynote speech by President Xi Jinping, which emphasized innovation, saying the direction, combined with current practices in China, could solve the global challenge of growth.
The hard diplomacy on Syria set the tone for an uneven few days for Mr Obama on his last tour through Asia as president. The Kurds are the most effective US-backed anti-ISIL force, but the Turks consider them to be terrorists.
Instead of disembarking Air Force One via a rolling red-carpet staircase, Obama exited through a little-used set of steps in an incident that raised speculation of a diplomatic snub by China.
To the frustration of the White House, these weighty matters seemed to be overshadowed by a made-for-social-media moment from Obama’s arrival at the airport.
As the president was greeted by his Chinese hosts, Mr Obama’s aides and journalists accompanying the president clashed with a Chinese official as they tried to watch the ceremony.
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His comments could be seen as a warning to Russia, CNN reported.
