Putin and Obama discuss Syria and Ukraine at G20 summit in China

Obama, who had just come from a 90-minute session with Putin on the sidelines of the summit, also pointedly noted, “We’ve had problems with cyber intrusions from Russian Federation and other countries in the past”. “The US President is absolutely honest in striving for a resolution of the Syrian conflict”, also calling the US a “key partner” on security issues. On Monday, it was reported that U.S. intelligence agencies are probing what they believe are Russian efforts to influence the vote.

Juncker also rejected USA criticism of the order for Ireland to collect $14.5 billion in back taxes from Apple. The pair also discussed Ukraine and Russia’s cyber intrusions, the official said.

On September 5, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his USA counterpart John Kerry also had a separate meeting to discuss the regulation of the crisis in Syria.

The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the USA resisted. There was no rolling staircase provided for Air Force One when it landed and Obama had to disembark from an exit in the plane’s belly.

“Although Xi and Obama reached a long list of agreements on a wide range of topics such as the economy, security and climate change in bilateral talks, Western media did not seem to find these achievements as intriguing as the tiffs, into which they immediately read deeply”, the publication added. For example, the country faces criticism from the US and Europe over the flood of steel and other raw materials it has unleashed on global markets.

On Syria, the topic that occupied most of their conversation, Obama said that he and Putin have had “productive conversations” about negotiating a “real cessation of hostilities” in Syria but that “gaps of trust” have prevented reaching an agreement.

Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of the agreement to stop the violence, the official said. An “effort [to make the deal work] should increase in urgency over the next several weeks”, Obama said.

The US and Russian Federation tried and failed to strike a deal on stemming the violence in the disastrous five-year conflict, even as a string of bomb attacks hit across the country, underlining the urgency of the task.

Even though Obama bemoaned the “terrible attempted coup” that failed to topple Erdogan in July, the Turkish President did not shy away from raising differences with the USA in front of the press.

Lack of trust between the US and Russian Federation is getting in the way of possible cooperation to stop the violence in Syria, President Barack Obama said Sunday. The Kurds are the most effective USA -backed anti-IS force, but the Turks consider them to be terrorists. White House spokesman Ned Price said Obama and Putin were huddling on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit, with details of their informal meeting expected to be released later today.

But according to Chinese officials involved in the diplomatic arrangements, the answer was much simpler.

Obama departs China Monday for Laos, where his Pacific trade plan will take center stage.