The two leaders also discussed Ukraine during their meetings at the G20; Obama says he emphasized that US sanctions against Russian Federation wouldn’t be lifted until a peace agreement is implemented in Ukraine.
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The meeting of Russian and U.S. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama went off well and lasted longer than planned.
“There is still a lot to do in order to completely re-establish cooperation in all areas”, Putin said after the bilateral meeting.
Meanwhile, the Turkish president said Ankara was working with US-led coalition forces and Moscow to instate a ceasefire in Aleppo for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, expected around September 11.
Obama made the comments during a news conference in Hangzhou, China, where he attended the Group of 20 economic summit. There is a Minsk agreement that arose out of the Normandy negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently because of the humanitarian situation. USA failure to do so has allowed the Russians to claim they are targeting only terrorists of the Front for the Conquest of Syria – or Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the al-Qaeda affiliate formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra – and the Islamic State.
The Turkish president also said his country was cooperating with Russian Federation for a ceasefire to be declared in the Aleppo region before the Eid-ul-Azha, which is due around September 12. Kerry and Lavrov were consulting with their governments ahead of Monday’s continuation of discussions.
President Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to make a breakthrough in negotiating a cease-fire agreement for Syria, according to a media report.
Russian Federation has insisted that it can not agree to a deal unless opposition fighters, backed by the United States and Middle East allies, are separated from al-Qaeda linked militants they overlap with in some areas.
“President Obama and President Putin discussed efforts to reach an agreement on Syria to reduce violence, provide humanitarian assistance and to focus on Al Qaeda”, the White House official said.
Russian forces have aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to target US-backed opposition fighters that Moscow and Damascus claim are terrorists.
The US president also mentioned the stock-piling of “cyber weapons” in the form of zero-day exploits and digital attack capabilities, a cycle reminiscent of the Cold War arms race whose effects are still being felt today.
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Obama’s meeting with Putin came as the Russian Federation leader is playing a prominent role in the presidential campaign at home.
