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| Obama denied the red carpet welcome in Hangzhou, China that other world leaders received. |
It's the second day of high-stakes diplomacy for Obama, who arrived here Saturday to an inauspicious welcome: no red-carpeted stairs for Air Force One and open quarreling on the tarmac between Chinese and US officials over press access. Other leaders arriving for the G20 here were greeted with a far grander welcome.
The rancor continued throughout Saturday as Obama met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to cement a carbon reduction agreement and haggle over longstanding disputes like cybersecurity and maritime aggression.
Obama said Sunday the US would never apologize for its insistence upon press access, but said he understood why Chinese officials may have chafed at the Americans' demands.
"We don't leave our values and ideals behind when we take these trips. It can cause some friction," Obama said following his meeting with Theresa May, the newly installed British prime minister. At the same time, Obama cautioned against inflating the incident.
"I wouldn't over crank the significance of it," he said. "We've got a lot of planes and helicopters and a lot of cars and a lot of guys and, you know, if you're a host country, sometimes it may feel a little bit much."
Haggling over Syria
Obama was beginning his day of talks as
his Secretary of State John Kerry was working to reach a deal on ending
violence in Syria. The President said Kerry and Russian foreign minister
Sergey Lavrov had been working "around the clock" to hammer out an
agreement, but hadn't yet reached a final accord.
"I
think it's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward,
but there's the possibility at least for us to make some progress on
that front," Obama said.
Obama and
Russian President Vladimir Putin were expected to interact during this
week's Group of 20 summit, though a formal meeting was not on the books.
Any deal to end widespread suffering in Syria was likely to be met with
doubt after past settlements failed -- a fact Obama acknowledged on
Sunday.
"Given the failure of previous cessations of hostilities to hold, we approach it with some skepticism," Obama said.
But he said any work toward easing the deeply troubling humanitarian crisis was valuable.
"It
is worth trying," he said. "To the extent that there are children and
women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and,
you know, get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's
worth the effort."
Deep divides over Syria have marred
Obama's relationship with Putin, adding to a litany of discord between
the US and Russia that's driven relations to their lowest level since
the Cold War.
This week's
interaction between Obama and Putin could be a final attempt to salvage
what's become one of the most acrimonious relationships on the global
stage. Putin's persistent support for the Syrian regime, Moscow's moves
in Ukraine and the charge that Russia may be meddling in the US
presidential contest have built a deeply antagonistic dynamic between
the two leaders.
A deal on Syria
could place US-Russia ties in a firmer position as Obama prepares to
leave office. American diplomats have been pressuring Moscow to use its
influence in Damascus and force the Syrian regime to end its strikes on
civilians and US-backed opposition fighters.
Obama said on Sunday that Russian participation was essential.
"Our
conversations with the Russians are key because, if it were not for the
Russians, then Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its
offensive," he said... For the complete news,
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