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Obama and Putin discuss Syria cease-fire

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who met on Sunday to discuss Syria, held a fresh round of negotiations on Monday morning but this too ended without an agreement, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely US-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. Obama used an alternative exit, but quarrels broke out on the tarmac and at other venues over access by USA officials and the traveling press.

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Russian Federation has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but the United States has worked with what it says are moderate opposition forces fighting against him.

Also on Monday, the leaders of South Korea and China met on the side-lines of the G20 summit, where Xi reaffirmed Beijing’s commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The meeting will follow the end of the Group of 20 summit Mr Xi is hosting in the eastern city of Hangzhou, where leaders from around the world have gathered to discuss how to tackle the slowing global economy.

Chinese Government is said to have denied of diplomatic snub to Obama, who did not disembark from his aircraft on to a red-carpet-lined staircase, like other world leaders arriving for the G20.

The meeting was also attended, among others, by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry. News stories displayed here appear in our category for Business and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization. The U.S. wants Russian Federation to focus exclusively on IS and al-Qaida-linked groups.

“If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation”. They said the USA must get rebels to break ranks with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a task that grew tougher after Nusra fighters last month successfully broke the siege of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and the site of fierce recent fighting.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called-on G20 leaders to avoid “empty talk” at the summit in Hangzhou.

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To the frustration of the White House, these weighty matters seemed to be overshadowed by a made-for-social-media moment from Obama’s arrival at the airport. His next stop is Laos, where he’ll promote his effort to deepen ties to Southeast Asia.

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