The Syrian issue and Ukraine were discussed first and foremost, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters following talks on September 5. They are discussing a cease-fire between Syria’s government and moderate rebels, and a possible U.S.
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President Barack Obama said Monday the USA and Russian Federation have not given up on negotiations that could stem the bloodshed in Syria, but acknowledged leaders are challenged by “gaps of trust” between the rival powers.
In an English transcript of the meeting published on the Kremlin’s website, Putin was quoted as saying that a great deal has to be done to restore full-scale bilateral cooperation in all areas.
“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation”, Obama told reporters at the close of the G-20, “And we’ve haven’t yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work”.
Putin and Obama spoke for almost an hour and a half. There is a Minsk agreement that arose out of the Normandy negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
The former Cold War enemies have been trying to broker a new truce after a ceasefire agreed in February unravelled within weeks, with Washington accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of violating the pact.
Obama says the United States and Russian Federation are working to try to finalise a ceasefire in Syria that would allow more deliveries of humanitarian aid.
“We had some productive talks about what a cessation of hostilities would look like for Russian Federation and the U.S. to focus on our common enemies”, he said.
Kerry said the two sides had worked through many technical issues but said the US didn’t want to enter into an illegitimate agreement.
The United States and Russia came up short Sunday on an agreement to end more than five years of civil war between Syria’s Russian-backed government and USA -supported rebels. This could be achieved with the coalition forces.
The two leaders conversed on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit here for ninety minutes, a senior U.S. official said, and worked to clarify gaps in negotiations over on the Syrian crisis.
The White House wants to determine whether the Minsk ceasefire can be implemented beforeObama leaves office in January, or whether economic sanctions on Russian Federation will need to be extended, the official said. Kerry predicted a deal could be reached within a week.
Obama said “the typical the tone of our meetings are candid, blunt and businesslike and this one was no different”.
Erdogan and Putin will also discuss the normalization process between Turkey and Russian Federation as well as bilateral cooperation process, especially in energy, trade and economy sectors.
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Obama didn’t detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the US has concerns about Russian Federation holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms. CNN reported that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
