07/09/2013 10:41
'Constructive' talks, but little headway on Syrian crisis
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, held what each man described Friday as a "constructive" talk about Syria, though there's no indication it produced any breakthrough consensus, CNN reported.
What began as small talk after Putin approached Obama led to the two pulling up chairs in the corner of the room and talking almost entirely about Syria for 20 to 30 minutes, as other leaders watched, a senior Obama administration official said.
Afterward, Obama described the exchange on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Russia as "candid" -- but acknowledged that Putin was unlikely to support his call for military action against Syria.
Putin gave reporters a similar account, adding, "He doesn't agree with me, I don't agree with him, but we listened to each other."
Both leaders said they could work together to seek a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
The two men hold opposing views over whether military action should be taken against the Syrian government over its alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people.
Obama is seeking to rally domestic and international support for a military strike, while Putin -- an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- has challenged the assertion that regime forces were behind the alleged chemical weapons attacks.
Putin repeated the Syrian government's accusation that "militants" used chemical weapons in a bid to get aid and support from "those countries who support them."
He told reporters that Moscow will continue to provide Syria with arms and humanitarian aid.
He and Obama also talked about ways to solve the Syrian crisis peacefully, he said.
A statement issued Friday by a bare majority of the G20 -- 11 of its 20 members -- said that "the evidence clearly points to the Syrian government being responsible for the attack, which is part of a pattern of chemical weapons use by the regime."
"Those who perpetrated these crimes must be held accountable," it said.