Lack of trust between the USA and Russian Federation is getting in the way of possible cooperation to stop the violence in Syria, President Obama said Sunday, adding that he nevertheless plans to keep trying against the odds.
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Obama also spent about 90 minutes Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, another leader whose fate seems intertwined with Obama’s in all the wrong ways. The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered US concerns over cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine. And the US must get rebels to break ranks with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a task that grew tougher after its fighters last month successfully broke the siege of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and the site of fierce recent fighting. Kerry said the US wanted a deal with the best chance for its survival.
State Department officials have refused to elaborate on what the sticking points are preventing a deal.
The conversation came hours after US and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short. Their discussion came hours after top US and Russian diplomats failed to seal a deal aimed at providing access to humanitarian aid for thousands of civilians in the war-torn country.
Both Putin and Obama are expected to give press conferences later today.
Reuters said that Mr Putin said on Monday that an agreement with the United States on finding a way to significantly reduce the death toll in Syria could be reached in the next few days.
President Barack Obama says there is symbolic value to his coming visit to Laos.
Politically embarrassing emails from the breach were leaked ahead of the convention of the party, with many security experts holding that the hack had the backing of Russian intelligence services. “The issue is not with us, the issue is with the British side”, Putin told reporters. The pair also discussed Ukraine and Russia’s cyber intrusions, the official said. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue.
Mr Putin even claimed a deal could be reached within days.
Turkey and Russia normalised ties in June after Erdogan sent a letter to Putin expressing regret over the shooting down of a Russian war plane on the Syrian border last November which had caused an unprecedented crisis in their relations. Obama and other US officials would like to see Russian Federation focus on what Obama referred to as “common enemies”, naming the Islamic State militants and the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate. The U.S. has entered into agreements with Russian Federation on Syria and Ukraine, only to have them unravel.
“It was constructive”, a United States official said after the meeting, noting that all differences were not resolved. Upon Obama’s arrival, social media exploded with speculation China had slighted Obama after there was no staircase awaiting him on the tarmac, forcing the president to deplane through a set of internal stairs he rarely uses.
As the president was greeted by his Chinese hosts, Obama’s aides and accompanying journalists clashed with a Chinese official as they tried to watch the ceremony.
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Obama departs China Monday for Laos, where his Pacific trade plan will take center stage.
