Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China Monday but failed to reach any breakthrough to end the Syrian Civil War.
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“Despite everything, we have some alignment of positions and an understanding of what we could do to deescalate the situation in Syria”, he told a press conference following the G20 summit in China. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad’s military and the rebels, rather than another time-limited agreement like ones that failed before. He then huddled with Putin in a meeting that lasted 90 minutes.
The president expressed concerns to Putin about cybersecurity issues, but would not detail the discussions.
Hua questioned why China would intentionally create trouble for the United States, adding that the incident was not a high-level issue, echoing comments made by Obama on Sunday.
“After their quick ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement, China and the U.S., the world’s first and second-largest emitters of greenhouse gases, have led by example ahead of other emerging and industrialised economies”, said a commentary in the nationalistic tabloid Global Times.
Asked about the airport kerfuffle after a Sunday morning meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Obama acknowledged to reporters that “the seams are showing a little more than usual in terms of some of the negotiations and jostling that takes place behind the scenes”.
“We’re going to have enough problems in the cyber space with non-state actors, who are engaging in theft and using the internet for all kinds of illicit practices”, Obama said. “And we’ll see in coming days whether on Syria we can reach a near-term agreement”.
While the president suggested that talks at the summit have been fruitful, it remains to be seen if countries like Russian Federation are ready to cooperate on cyber regulations. He and Lavrov were expected to continue negotiating the truce – or what President Obama called a “meaningful, serious, verifiable cessation of hostilities”.
Russian forces have aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to target US-backed opposition fighters that Moscow and Damascus claim are terrorists.
The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the US resisted.
A verbal altercation was also reported between USA and Chinese officials as Obama was making his way through the crowd on the tarmac.
US President Barack Obama said he plans to advocate for trade and “cut through the noise” of the election season.
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Obama first held a “pull-aside” with President Francois Hollande of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
