Obama: 'Gaps
of trust' hamper Syria deal with Russia
(CNN) - US President Obama says an agreement with Russia on
ending the violence in Syria is being hampered by "gaps of trust"
between the two governments.
Asked by CNN's
Michelle Kosinski about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the
President described it as "candid" and "blunt" focusing
mainly on Syria and Ukraine.
Mr. Obama
called the discussion on Syria "productive" about what a real cessation
of hostilities would actually look like.
"We have
had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities
would look like that would allow us both... to focus our attention on common
enemies.
Obama added
that currently the gaps have not been closed in negotiations between Russia and
the US in a way that they think would "actually work." Obama urged
Kerry and Lavrov to work together in the coming days to get aid to those in
need.
Obama and his
Russian counterpart Putin met Monday as talks between their governments on
ending violence in Syria ended without an agreement.
The two
leaders conversed on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit here for ninety
minutes, a senior US official said, and worked to clarify gaps in negotiations
over on the Syrian crisis. The pair also discussed Ukraine and Russia's cyber
intrusions, the official said.
The exchange
came after talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian
counterpart Sergey Lavrov failed to result in a Syria ceasefire agreement. They
had been working to negotiate a plan that would have boosted military
cooperation between the two nations in an effort to better target terrorists
and prevent civilian deaths.
Negotiators
failed to work through differences, and the talks have ended for now. Following
Obama's meeting with Putin, an official said the leaders indicated a desire for
Kerry and Lavrov to reconvene deliberations in the coming days.
"It was
constructive," a US official said after the meeting, noting that all
differences were not resolved. The official spoke anonymously to discuss a
private conversation.
"It's
clear now what our respective positions are," the official said. "And
we'll see in coming days whether on Syria we can reach a near-term agreement.
If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that
effort."
Differences
between the two sides are technical, the official indicated, suggesting the
divide was at a level that Obama and Putin wouldn't negotiate themselves.
"President
Obama and President Putin were not going to get down into the weeds of the
language of an agreement and the implementation associated with the
agreement," the official said.
Photos of the
session distributed by the Kremlin show the two leaders and aides, including
Kerry and US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, seated around a table. The
presidents appeared in congenial moods, with one photo showing Putin smiling
broadly.
Both Russian
and US officials said the meeting -- which was held in a conference room at the
G20 summit site here -- lasted longer than planned, and that leaders spent the
bulk of their meeting discussing Syria.
READ THE
ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE
Follow Solenzo Blog on
0 Comments