‘Gaps of trust’ with Russia curb Syria deal, Obama says
OBAMA, PUTIN FAIL TO NEGOTIATE PARTNERSHIP AGAINST ‘COMMON ENEMIES’
President Barack Obama said Monday the U.S. and Russia are confronting “gaps of trust” as they negotiate ways to stem the bloodshed in Syria. Significant sticking points remain in the negotiations over creation of an unlikely U.S.-Russian military partnership focusing firepower on “common enemies” in Syria, Obama said.
He acknowledged that a flurry of diplomacy at an economic summit and a 90-minute meeting earlier Monday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did not yield a breakthrough.
“Given the gaps of trust that exist, that’s a tough negotiation,” Obama said at a news conference closing the Group of 20 summit. “We haven’t yet closed the gaps.”
Obama didn’t detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the U.S. has concerns about Russia holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms. Any deal would depend on Moscow using its influence with Syrian President Bashar Assad to persuade him to ground planes and stop the assault on opposition forces.
Obama said the aim was to reach “meaningful, serious, verifiable cessations of hostilities in Syria.”
While the meetings were going on Monday, near-simultaneous bombings claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant struck in and around strongholds of the Syrian government and Kurdish troops, killing at least 48 people.
Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Russian-ally Assad’s government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S. Talks are expected to resume quickly, probably later this week. The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer military co-ordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the U.S. resisted.
A sit-down between Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also laid bare the NATO allies’ diverging interests in Syria, with Erdogan pointedly challenging Obama on U.S. support for Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in Syria.
The Kurds are the most effective U.S.-backed anti-ISIL force, but the Turks consider them to be terrorists.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was silent when asked about the reports that Erdogan had pointedly criticized Obama over his support for Kurdish troops.
Trudeau didn’t respond to a question about whether similar concerns had been raised in his “pull-aside” meeting with Erdogan on Sunday. Canada’s major contribution to the U.S.-led antiISIL coalition in Iraq and Syria is the training of Kurdish forces.
Turkey has long waged its own battle against the PKK, a force seeking the establishment of a Kurdish state. Canada lists the PKK as a terrorist organization. The Iraqi Kurdish fighters Canada is training, who already operate a semi-autonomous regional government, have not made a secret of their own plans for self-determination.
Trudeau also did not address a query about whether Erdogan had raised concerns about Canada offering military help to Kurds, choosing to answer on the subject of the cases of two dual Canadian citizens, Davud Hanci and Ilhan Erdem, who were arrested in connection with an attempted military coup attempt July 15 that left 200 dead.
Trudeau had other “pull asides” at the summit, with the U.K.’s new Prime Minister, Theresa May, along with leaders from Singapore, the EU and the OECD. His only official bilateral meeting was with the president of Chad.
“Yes, there are a number of formal bilaterals, but the conversations that go on on the margins are equally important on a wide range of issues,” Trudeau said as the G20 wrapped up. Though Canadian prime ministers are typically not the loudest voices in conversations about international security, a major meeting was held about a situation in which Canada holds a major stake.
Obama, Merkel and French President François Hollande met Monday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. But though Canadian troops are currently training members of the Ukrainian military, Trudeau was not present.
“Canada continues to be a strong and active NATO partner in Eastern Europe,” Trudeau said in response to a question about why he wasn’t at the meeting, noting Canada’s recent commitment to troops in Latvia.