US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country.
After a 90-minute huddle on the sidelines of the G20 economic summit, the two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the meeting.
The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered US concerns over cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine.
The official said the US was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo.
However, US was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective.
The two leaders used the talk to clarify sticking points, the official said.
The conversation came hours after US and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short.
US 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 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government forces and moderate rebels backed by the US.
The strategy has hinged on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria.
However, Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement.
In recent days, the US State Department has said it is seeking a nationwide ceasefire between al-Assad’s military and the rebels, rather than another “cessation of hostilities” that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions.
Washington and Moscow support opposing sides in the five-year conflict, which has killed about 300,000 people and forced millions to flee.
A deal to provide aid to Aleppo’s ravaged civilians and at least partially halt Russian and Syrian bombardments had looked likely on Sunday.
US officials accused Russia of backtracking on already agreed issues that Washington refused to revisit, but the talks seemed to have been overtaken by developments on the ground, with Syrian government troops renewing their siege of Aleppo on Sunday.
Additional reporting by AFP
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of