Putin says ‘some alignment’ with USA on Syria after Obama talks

The two sides are exploring forging closer military ties to fight militant groups and reduce the violence but can’t agree on how to implement any pact.

President Jean-Claude Juncker of the European Commission arrives at the Hangzhou Exhibition Center to participate in G20 Summit, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 in Hangzhou, China.

Obama also said he and Putin spoke in generalities about cybersecurity and emphasized that “the goal is not to duplicate in the cyber area the cycle of escalation” which has complicated the solution to other problems.

Obama notes at his news conference before leaving China that he will be the first USA president to visit the southeast Asian country.

“We need to protect the interests of the members of the European Union that want to stay together, not the one which wants to leave”, said Tusk. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information.

“We [with Obama] basically had a discussion to look into details”.

Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of an agreement to stop the violence. French President Francois Hollande hailed the ratification as an “important step” by the two biggest carbon emitters in the world.

“His valedictory Asia tour, which moved on to Laos later in the day, is unfolding amid diplomatic slights and great power rivalries that reflect the unstable nature of the world Obama will bequeath to his successor in January”.

World leaders gathering in China were set Monday to wrap up a Group of 20 summit that had aimed to address sluggish global growth but seemed overshadowed at times by the U.S.

“We also spent time talking about Ukraine”.

Washington should “aim to find a compromise which would reflect the interests of both cooperating sides”, Putin said, adding that sometimes the USA leadership only considers its “own benefit”.

“It was important that President Xi Jinping made this call about protectionism since recent events, such as Brexit (Britain’s exit from the European Union) or the run-up to the US election, have seen a protectionist agenda”, said the researcher with the Autonomous Metropolitan University.

To the frustration of the White House, these weighty matters seemed to be overshadowed by a made-for-social-media moment from Obama’s arrival at the airport. The tensions lingered throughout the trip as Chinese officials severely restricted the media’s ability to attend Obama’s G20 events. The Southeast Asian leader warned he would lash out if the US President raised extrajudicial killings in the Philippines’ new war on drugs in an anticipated meeting in Laos.

“But because they met the criteria they were automatically let in”.

Obama said he has instructed his aides to determine whether it would still be productive to hold the face-to-face meeting with Duterte.