“In their discussion president Putin and President Obama clarified the remaining gaps in those discussions and they directed Secretary Kerry and foreign Minister Lavrov to see if they could reach an agreement”. Despite the nearing impasse, Obama said he is committed to continuing efforts.
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They didn’t reach any agreements.
The Obama administration’s latest effort to broker a cease-fire in Syria fell short Monday, after a 90-minute meeting between President Obama and President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting failed to resolve snags between the United States and Russian Federation.
But officials hastily removed one, and Kerry turned up to report that the United States and Russian Federation had been unable to get past a handful of “tough issues”, as he put it.
Russian Federation has backed Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, but the United States has worked with what it says are moderate opposition forces fighting against him.
Obama’s relations with Putin are strained not only because of the Syrian situation but Moscow’s moves in Ukraine and the possibility the Russian leader is trying to help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump get elected.
“But given the gaps of trust that exist, that is a tough negotiation and we haven’t yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work”.
“It was important that President Xi Jinping made this call about protectionism since recent events, such as Brexit (Britain’s exit from the European Union) or the run-up to the USA election, have seen a protectionist agenda”, said the researcher with the Autonomous Metropolitan University.
While both Russian Federation and the U.S. are battling ISIL, Moscow supports President Assad ‘s forces, including with direct military intervention.
However, Putin said that an agreement with the US on finding a way to significantly reduce the death toll in Syria could be reached in the next few days.
Obama’s National Security Advisor Susan Rice was also involved in an argument with a Chinese official who stopped her from crossing a media rope as she made her way to the US motorcade.
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Obama said he would not comment on “specific investigations that are still live and active”, an apparent reference to a computer breach of the Democratic National Committee, which some USA officials have blamed on Russian Federation. “It was constructive”, a United States official said after the meeting, noting that all differences were not resolved.
