“No one thinks that any of this is actually going to come to pass”.
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The summit may also provide an opportunity to Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet and narrow their differences on Syria. Backed by Russian warplanes, Assad’s forces have waged an air and ground campaign that has killed hundreds of thousands, sparked a humanitarian crisis and forced millions to seek refuge in Europe. There is also hope of agreeing a weekly 48-hour truce in the divided northern city of Aleppo to allow aid deliveries and medical evacuations.
However, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper have both expressed their concern over sharing sensitive intelligence and targeting information with Moscow.
Obama addressed members at the summit directly in regard to the stall in talks between the US and Russian Federation.
The negotiations between senior USA and Russian officials, aimed at securing a broad ceasefire in Syria, are now seen lasting into the weekend as fighting in the country intensifies.
But the focus on climate quickly gave way to the failed Syria talks.
He said the two sides had worked through many technical issues but said the US didn’t want to enter into an illegitimate agreement. For months, he said, Russian Federation has been asking the Americans for “a real, genuine demarcation between terrorists and the so-called opposition”. He touted new military aid and US support for regional co-operation in addressing maritime disputes. On the day he took command in Baghdad last month, Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend said that “as a soldier, I’m fairly skeptical of the Russians”, adding that he’s hesitant “to believe the coalition can cooperate with them”.
“The United States is more deeply engaged across the Asia-Pacific than we have been in decades”, Obama said. Syrian government troops encircled rebel-held parts of Aleppo, renewing a brutal siege. He said he had discussed the topic of cybersecurity norms with Putin and earlier with some other countries, and is already seeing some willingness from a lot of countries to adopt the rules, though it will have to be seen whether they are following them. And opposition groups that have ties to Western governments have repeatedly rejected appeals from Washington to move out of areas where Nusra is located.
Kerry and Lavrov have been in talks for weeks over a deal to boost US and Russian military cooperation to fight the Islamic State group and other extremists in Syria. Lavrov’s deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, said a deal was “close” but that Washington had to dissociate itself from Nusra.
US authorities are also said to be investigating the hack of another Democratic Party organization, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently because of the humanitarian situation.
“The Russians walked back on some of the areas we thought we were agreed on”, a senior State Department official said on Saturday, revealing the level of frustration.
“You must be respectful”, Duterte said of Obama.
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Global networks of arms traders, oil smuggling and military intelligence all testify to systematic state sponsorship of terrorism in Syria, Russia Today reports.
