President Barack Obama will be holding a press conference today from the G20 Summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia at 9:50 a.m. ET. The president is expected to take questions on the happenings of G20, but also the crisis in Syria where tensions are rising on a daily basis as the U.S. continues to consider the possibility of military intervention. The relationship between President Obama and Russia President Vladimir Putin are strained in light of the conflict, and it’ll be interesting to see how the two presidential superpowers interact.
The G-20 is a group of twenty economically developed countries who convene annually or biannually to discuss policy and the promotion of financial stability internationally.
Watch President Obama’s press conference from Saint Petersburg, Russia at 9:50 a.m ET here:
However, I think it’s safe to assume that the heads of state in attendance have other matters on their minds.
The United States ordered nonessential U.S. diplomats to leave Lebanon due to security concerns today, suggesting that perhaps a militant response to the Syrian governments use of chemical weapons against unarmed civilians. And while the G20 Leaders Declaration fails to mention Syria a single time, Presidents Obama and Putin surely discussed the Middle Eastern civil war at great lengths.
As president of Russia, Putin was able to vote against the United Nations Security Council for a UN intervention in Syria, prompting President Obama to supersede the UN should he receive support from Capitol Hill. Syria is a crucial outpost for Russia as the country houses the largest country in the world’s last military station outside the former Soviet Union. Russia was also involved in a pact pre-rebellion that authorized it to supply aid to Syria in times of turmoil, though President Putin renounces the notion that Russia has supplied the Syrian government with any military assistance.
Prior to President Obama’s press conference, the Commander in Chief met with French President François Hollande who has vocally supported foreign intervention in Syria though whether France decides to step up remains to be seen. Stay tuned to BostInno for the latest details regarding the United States’s allies and their intent on backing a decision on Syria.
You can watch other heads of state speak from the G-20 Summit here:
