“I’ve said all along we’re not going to rush”, said Kerry, who has negotiated several failed truces with Russian Federation in recent months.
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“We can say that our mutual work with the U.S.in fighting terrorist organizations, including in Syria, will be significantly improved and intensified”, Putin said at a press conference.
“We’ve had problems with cyber intrusions from Russian Federation in the past, from other countries in the past”, Obama said.
Observers have said that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union could play into Putin’s hands as he has been accused of trying to drive a wedge between EU members.
Kerry said the two sides had worked through many technical issues but said the US didn’t want to enter into an illegitimate agreement.
Speaking in China, Obama said: “We had some productive talks about what a cessation of hostilities would look like for Russian Federation and the U.S.to focus on our common enemies”, he said. In recent days, the State Department has said it only wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad’s military and the rebels, and not another “cessation of hostilities” that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions. 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.
The two world leaders also discussed alleged Russian cyber attacks on America, with Obama likening the internet to a risky weapon. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue. Syria is part of the area where the U.S.is targeting Islamic State fighters including through the use of drone strikes.
A sit-down between Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also laid bare the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies’ diverging interests in Syria, with Erdogan pointedly challenging Obama on USA support for Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in Syria.
“Many of the groups considered acceptable by the US have actually affiliated with the Nusra Front, while the Nusra Front is using them to avoid being attacked”, Ryabkov told Russian media, citing a longstanding complaint of his government.
Two of the most powerful men in the world came face to face at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, and gave a whole new meaning to the phrase Cold War – if this iconic photograph is anything to go by.
As the president was greeted by his Chinese hosts, Obama’s aides and journalists accompanying the president clashed with a Chinese official as they tried to watch the ceremony. The tensions lingered throughout the trip as Chinese officials severely restricted the media’s ability to attend Obama’s G20 events.
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U.S. President Barack Obama said his country has had problems with cyber intrusions from Russian Federation and other countries in the past, but aims to establish some norms of behavior rather than let the issue escalate as happened in arms races in the past. Duterte on Monday warned that Obama should not question him, during a scheduled meeting Tuesday, about extrajudicial killings in his country.
