US President Barack Obama on Monday said an agreement with Russian Federation on ending the violence in Syria is being hampered by “gaps of trust” between the two governments. -Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria.
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Meanwhile, Putin told reporters that a deal with the USA to “ease tensions in Syria” may come “within a few days”, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.
“Even Obama has had to mark some time in his diary to meet Putin, although the USA will look to play this down”.
At around the same time, Xi was telling his South Korean counterpart, Park Gyun-hye, that China is opposed to the deployment of a powerful USA anti-missile system in South Korea.
In his first appearance at a meeting convening the world leaders since the recent coup attempt in Turkey, the president emphasized the importance of fighting against terrorism.
It follows equally unsuccessful talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Obama had a news conference scheduled at the summit site later Monday.
“We have agreed.to support the multilateral trade system and oppose protectionism”, Xi said after hosting the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.
Besides the situation in Syria, Obama also reportedly discussed with Putin concerns over militant pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and Russian cybersecurity crimes. United States officials believe that Russian hackers are responsible for the recent Democratic National Committee breach, which some fear was meant to influence the upcoming presidential election.
The statement cited the climate change agreement reached in Paris late previous year – and now ratified by the USA and China – urging other G-20 members to complete their respective procedures for ratification soon.
At the press conference, Juncker reportedly said it was critical for China to accept a method to monitor steel overcapacity and its causes, which had been discussed at earlier meetings in July 2016.
Obama’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping also veered into delicate territory, with a lengthy White House description detailing how Obama had pressed Xi to abide by an global tribunal’s ruling against China over the South China Sea.
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Obama departs China Monday evening local time for Laos. The Kurds are the most effective US-backed anti-Daesh force, but the Turks consider them to be terrorists.
