G-20 Summit Wraps, Trump Takes Spotlight
The G-20 summit of the leaders of the worldâs richest economies wrapped up Saturday in the German city of Hamburg against a backdrop of angry protests and with U.S. President Donald Trump taking center stage.
Trumpâs successes included what was being characterized as a warm, engaged meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a partial cease-fire deal on Syria, and a pledge to speed up a trade deal with Britain. But the summitâs final communiqué laid bare the U.S. leaderâs remaining differences with some G-20 leaders on climate change and a reaction to their perception of Trumpâs America First policy, one widely perceived as isolationist. In their communiqué, the leaders said they agreed to "fight protectionism.â
President Trumpâs schedule on the last day of the summit included a series of meetings on the sidelines with the leaders of Britain, Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, and China.
Words of praise for Merkel
At a women e ntrepreneurs finance session, the U.S. president offered a conciliatory gesture to the summitâs host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, perhaps the most vocal critic among G-20 leaders of Trumpâs policies on trade and climate.
Trump praised Merkel for the job her country has done in hosting the summit despite unrelenting anti-capitalist protests that escalated in Hamburg Saturday and included car burnings and the looting of businesses.
âIt's been really incredible the way things have been handled and nothing's easy, but so professionally, without much interruption despite quite a few people and they seem to follow your G20s around,â President Trump told Merkel. âBut you have been amazing and you have done a fantastic job and thank you very much, chancellor. Bravo,â the U.S. leader said.
German officials had expected 100,000 protesters Saturday on the streets of Hamburg.
TTrumpâs last meeting of the day was with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom he had been expected to raise the tough issues of North Korea and Chinese steel dumping. Trump has criticized the Chinese leadership for failing to use its influence on the otherwise isolated North and getting it to stop its missile tests.
The U.S. president and his entourage left Hamburg immediately after meeting with Xi, and were expected to brief reporters on the conversation en route to Washington.
Trump-Putin
It was Trumpâs meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin a day earlier that made headlines at the two-day summit. The two men had a visibly warm encounter that went for more than two hours - far longer than expected to the point where Trump had to push a previously scheduled meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May to Saturday.
Despite the friendly tone of Trumpâs meeting with Putin Friday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. leader had pressed Putin repeatedly on allegations that Russia meddled in U.S. elections last year.
WATCH: Trump-Putin Meeting
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The Russians denied any interference in the U.S. electoral process.
"President Trump said that he heard firm assertions from President Putin that it is not true and that Russian authorities have not meddled in these elections and that [Trump] said that he accepts these assertions. That's it," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
At the end of the summit, Putin told reporters they should ask Trump the question of whether the U.S. leader believed Putinâs assertions or not.
âYou have to ask about President Trumpâs attitude to my answers and not what happened. Nothing was happening. We werenât meddling [in the election],â Putin said.
U.S. officials have not confirmed Lavrovâs characterization of President Trumpâs response to Putin.
The meeting is likely to bring returns for Putin at home. âTrump is still Russiaâs hope,â said Andrei Kolesnikov, senior fellow and chair of the Russian Domestic Politics and Political Instit utions Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center. âHe is still a person who can turn the global agenda in Russiaâs favor and Russia will attempt to use that â" Trumpâs emotional side.â
Whether the meeting represents similar gains for President Trump remains a question.
âThe U.S. leader appeared to focus entirely on the relationships and issues he values and not concentrate on the issues that are of less interest to him. During the summit he made no significant mention of climate change, a topic that Merkel and others said they would prioritize in the wake of Trumpâs decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.
Trump-May
At his session with the British prime minister, Trump described his sit down with Putin as âa tremendous meeting.â
Trump and May talked about their post-Brexit relations, an especially significant theme at a time when Trumpâs America First policy and Britainâs decision to break from the EU give the two historic allies even more reason to bond.
âThere is no country that could possibly be closer than our countries and for a long time,â Trump said. âWe're working on a trade deal that will be a very, very big deal, very powerful deal, great for both countries, a nd I think we'll have that done very, very quickly.
Trump told reporters he âwill be going to Londonâ but the date still needs to be worked out.
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