Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with his U.S. countepart Barack Obama during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016.
Advertisement
The two countries are also thought to be trying to reach a deal on some form of limited military co-operation.
“We [with Obama] basically had a discussion to look into details”. That is why I am committed to doing all I can to ensure the United States fulfills its obligations and serves as an example to every nation on Earth of what is possible when we put our science, leadership, and ingenuity to work on behalf of humanity.
Speaking after a 90-minute conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama said of the United States, “We’re moving into a new era here where a number of countries have significant capacities”. “Our other partners, including Iran, will also be informed [on the progress]”, Putin added.
G20 countries are set to agree in a communique at the end of the summit that all policy measures – including monetary, fiscal and structural reforms – should be used to achieve solid and sustainable economic growth, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said. Saying that they discussed “a range of issues”, the American president noted the situation in Syria was the most important of them.
A cessation of hostilities agreement brokered by Lavrov and Kerry in February unraveled within weeks, with Washington accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of violating the pact.
“Our goal is not to suddenly in the cyber arena duplicate a cycle of escalation that we saw when it comes to other arms races in the past”, he said, “but rather to start instituting some norms so that everyone is acting responsibly”.
“But given the gap of trust that exists, that is a tough negotiation and we have not closed the gap yet”.
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 worldwide tribunal’s ruling against China over the South China Sea.
Advertisement
“I will say that we are close to reaching a deal [with the United States]… there are no grounds to expect that everything would collapse”, Ryabkov told reporters. Despite the nearing impasse, Obama said he is committed to continuing efforts.
