Another country that has expanded its power base by thumbing its nose at the United States – Russia – also grabbed the spotlight during the G20 summit. “And Obama is coming down a metal staircase”, a furious Trump said at a meeting with labour leaders in OH, the Washington Post reported.
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A USA official said “differences remain” despite two rounds of talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the summit.
The EU decision against Apple comes amidst a coordinated global initiative to crack down on tax evasion by multinational companies, spearheaded by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
With the summit taking place after Britain’s vote in June to exit the European Union and before the USA presidential election in November, G20 leaders had been expected to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation and warn against isolationism.
Another shadow over the G20 has been the rise of popular opposition to free trade and globalization, embodied by phenomenon like Britain’s summer vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trump becoming the Republican presidential candidate in the United States.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party was relegated to third place behind an anti-immigrant party in a regional election on Sunday.
President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach a deal Monday on a cease-fire for Syria, but the two sides have agreed to continue negotiating even as Syrian government forces close in on the beseiged city of Aleppo.
“Obviously it has something to do with the refugee question”.
One of the few areas where there was progress was in protecting the environment.
Group of 20 leaders pledged to use all available tools to help prop up global growth that’s weaker than it should be while avoiding competitive currency devaluations.
The G20 members will capitalize on the new opportunities brought about by innovation, new industrial revolution, digital economy and other new factors and business types, and make a series of action plans, he said.
While Russia is awaiting the results of the investigation into the plane’s downing, work is in progress to rebuild bilateral relations, Putin said, adding that it might not be as fast as desired by the Turkish authorities. “When you break something, it’s always quick, but rebuilding things is always more hard and demands certain procedures”, the Russian leader said.
“The faster we can offer some relief to folks on the ground”, he said, “the better off we’re going to be”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had a broad range of updates on Moscow’s foreign policy and relations with major world players as he spoke to global media on the last day of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China.
His visit to Hangzhou got off to a chaotic start.
Russian support for the offensive prompted U.S. officials to raise questions about whether the Russians could be relied upon to implement an agreement to freeze battle lines and ground the Syrian air force.
May has asked her security advisers to review the project.
But beyond the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, the two powers have conflicting views about who fits in that category – as well as a deep and mutual distrust that the other party will hold up its end of the bargain.
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The document, to be released later, “explicitly mentions the need for increasing financial assistance as well as strengthening the contributions of the global community”, the diplomat told reporters.
