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.
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“I think we managed to get to an understanding of one another and to an understanding of the problems that we are facing”, Putin added.
The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered USA concerns over cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine.
The president expressed concerns to Putin about cybersecurity issues, but would not detail the discussions. He said, “We will see whether Putin, despite talking about wanting a negotiated solution, is comfortable with a constant low-grade conflict on the Russian-Ukraine border”. “I believe that we are on the right track and could, at least for some period of time, agree to carry out mutual energetic attempts to make the situation in Syria more healthy”, he said.
Obama was slated to leave China Monday evening, after a closing press conference. Saying that they discussed “a range of issues”, the American president noted the situation in Syria was the most important of them.
Obama and Putin spent about 90 minutes in a “constructive” meeting about getting humanitarian aid into the country, reducing violence, and cooperating on combating militant groups, the official told reporters.
However, he said that given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation. Mr Putin even claimed a deal could be reached within days.
The Syrian issue and Ukraine were discussed first and foremost, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters following talks on September 5.
Mrs May said she had asked the Russian leader to do all he could to end the bombing of civilians in Syria.
For weeks Washington and Moscow had been trying to reach a deal to control the violence between Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s forces, backed by Russian Federation, and the US-backed rebel forces.
Washington should “aim to find a compromise which would reflect the interests of both cooperating sides”, Putin said, adding that sometimes the U.S. leadership only considers its “own benefit”.
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“We met against the backdrop of a global landscape characterised by major economic and technological shifts, and by growth that has been too low for too long – and which has benefitted too few”.
