The G20 group agreed at their summit in China that refugees are a global issue and the burden must be shared, the leaders declared in a joint communique Monday.
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“Typically the tones of our meetings are candid, blunt, business-like and this one was no different”, he said at a separate press conference following the meeting. “We are in an effort to take this step”, he said, referring to an alliance of Western and regional armies claiming to fight the Daesh Takfiri group in Syria.
The official says Obama and Putin clarified remaining gaps in the talks, which largely involve how the deal would be implemented.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also took part in the talks, Russia’s TASS news agency reported.
Moscow and Washington support different sides in Syria’s festering conflict that has left 290,000 dead, with Russian Federation backing Mr Assad while the U.S. supports rebel groups fighting him.
The president said expressed concerns about cybersecurity issues with Putin, but would not detail the discussions.
With the summit taking place after Britain’s vote in June to exit the European Union and before the US presidential election in November, G20 leaders had been expected to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation and warn against isolationism. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information.
“We have influenced the outcomes in every area”.
The U.S. and Russian Federation aren’t closer to reaching agreement on a cease-fire in Syria but will continue talks over the next few days, U.S. President Barack Obama said.
Reuters said that Mr Putin said on Monday that an agreement with the U.S. on finding a way to significantly reduce the death toll in Syria could be reached in the next few days.
At the press conference Monday, Obama also addressed concerns about cybersecurity, acknowledging that the USA has “had problems with cyber intrusions” from Russian Federation and other countries.
Obama first held a “pull-aside” with President Francois Hollande of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel chats with President Barack Obama during the opening ceremony of the G-20 Leaders Summit on September 4, 2016, in Hangzhou, China.
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In a bid to protect its border, Turkey launched an incursion into northern Syria nearly two weeks ago, and has since cleared Islamic State and Kurdish militia fighters from a 90-km stretch of territory.
