Share

Obama and Putin fail to reach agreement on Syria

G20 leaders also formulated the high-level principles on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery, and a G20 2017-2018 anti-corruption action plan, said Xi, who carried out extensive anti-graft drive in which thousands of officials including some top leaders were punished.

Advertisement

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, South Korea said, in a show of force that collided with the summit and comes a fortnight after it test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday in Hangzhou that the ruling against Apple was clearly based on facts and existing rules and was not a decision aimed against the United States.

The lack of red carpet treatment for Obama even dominated analysis of the meeting between leaders of the world’s two superpowers.

President Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit on Monday morning to discuss the Syrian crisis, in what the UK Sun described as a “tense standoff”, with Obama “stony-faced” after a humiliating snub by the Chinese hosts.

The US secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal to curb the violence between the Assad’s government forces, which are allied with Russia, and moderate rebels backed by the US.

Moscow and Washington support different sides in Syria’s festering conflict that has left 290,000 dead, with Russian Federation backing President Bashar al-Assad while the United States supports rebel groups fighting him.

China produces half the world’s annual output of 1.6 billion tonnes of steel and has struggled to decrease its estimated 300 million tonne overcapacity, and rising prices have given companies there an incentive to boost production for export.

The rows over protocol aside, the two countries have far more significant financial matters to discuss as China closes in on overtaking the U.S.as the world’s largest economy. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who supports protectionist trade policies, has pulled into an effective tie with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, erasing a substantial deficit.

“I’m very unsatisfied with the outcome of the election”, Merkel told reporters in Hangzhou. “But I nevertheless believe the decisions made were right and we have to continue to work on them”.

Facing populist ire at home, leaders at the G20 summit have tried to walk a fine line: acknowledge anti-globalisation anger while arguing that ever more liberal trade is the cure for sluggish economies.

At the start of his trip, a logistical spat over missing airline airplane stairs needed for Obama to reach the red carpet at Hangzhou airport and verbal altercations between U.S. and Chinese officials grabbed headlines.

Obama has expressed skepticism that Russian Federation would hold to its agreement.

China on Monday levelled responsibility at the United States and journalists for a fracas at a Chinese airport, in which officials of both countries exchanged heated remarks as President Barack Obama disembarked from his aircraft.

Advertisement

Before then, Obama hopes to leave U.S. relationships on a steady footing, though world events and uncooperative leaders could complicate matters.

Theresa May speaks to Sky News before heading to China for the G20 summit