Obama was asked at a news conference in China on Monday whether he intends to meet Duterte, as planned, at a gathering in Laos this week of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
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The prospect of a major free trade deal between the United Kingdom and China was raised by Xi Jinping in talks with Theresa May following the G20 summit after she said the “golden era” in relations with Beijing would continue.
But according to Chinese officials involved in the diplomatic arrangements, the answer was much simpler.
Russian Federation supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime, while the US doesn’t.
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.
Russian Federation is part of an alliance trying to defeat the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria and Iraq – but has been criticised for military action which appeared to be supportive of keeping the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in power.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G-20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016.
Obama and his Russian counterpart Putin met on Monday as talks between their governments on ending violence in Syria ended without an agreement.
The British Prime Minister’s remark came after she landed in China to attend the G20 Summit, where she would hold a one-to-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Russian Federation and the US are fighting ISIS in Syria, though a civil war in the country has complicated those efforts.
At around the same time, Xi was telling his South Korean counterpart, Park Gyun-hye, that China is opposed to the deployment of a powerful USA anti-missile system in South Korea.
His visit started on a high note, with the United States and China consummating their unlikely partnership on climate change by announcing they were both entering the global emissions-cutting deal reached a year ago in Paris.
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But the focus on climate quickly gave way to the failed Syria talks. Obama told reporters he “wouldn’t over-crank the significance” of the airport events.
