President Barack Obama speaks to media after the G20 closing at JW Marriott Hotel on Monday in Hangzhou, China. He acknowledged that a flurry of diplomacy at an economic summit and a 90-minute meeting earlier Monday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did not yield a breakthrough.
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Asked how he would de-escalate tensions between the US and Russian Federation if he’s elected to the White House, Trump said he’d “have a very good relationship with many foreign leaders”, including Putin.
“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation, and we haven’t yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work”, he said.
At the press conference Monday, Obama also addressed concerns about cybersecurity, acknowledging that the USA has “had problems with cyber intrusions” from Russian Federation and other countries.
Obama has expressed skepticism that Russian Federation would hold to its agreement.
Trump suggested at the event in which he and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton made back-to-back appearances that US generals had been stymied by the policies of Obama and Clinton, who served as the Democratic president’s first secretary of state.
“I can tell you from the interactions that I’ve had over the last eight or nine days with foreign leaders, that this is serious business”, Obama said, “and you actually have to know what you’re talking about, and you actually have to have done your homework”. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information.
The official said Obama raised concerns about cybersecurity issues with Putin, but would not detail the discussions. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue.
She said US policies under her leadership at the State Department had helped promote security. “It is indisputable that it would create a better deal for us than the status quo”, Obama said.
But the focus on climate quickly gave way to the failed Syria talks.
“I don’t think the guy is qualified to be President of the United States”. The Kurds are the most effective US -backed anti-IS force, but the Turks consider them to be terrorists.
“W$3 here we see them violating global rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea, or in some of their behavior when it comes to economic policy, we’ve been very firm”, Obama told Zakaria earlier this week.
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’s next stop is Laos, where he’ll promote his effort to deepen ties to Southeast Asia.
