Donald Trump snubs Putin at G20 summit

US President Donald Trump headed to Argentina Thursday for a fractious weekend of G20 summitry , cancelling planned talks with the Russian leader and boasting that his trade war with China was paying off .
Rumblings of resistance to Trump ’ s assault on the international order were apparent as French President Emmanuel Macron said he would convene his fellow European leaders in Buenos Aires to forge a united front on “ all the challenges ” faced at the G 20 .

Trump called off Saturday ’ s bilateral with President Vladimir Putin at the G20 minutes after saying it would “ probably ” still happen despite Russia ’ s seizure of three Ukrainian ships, as “ it ’ s a very good time to have the meeting . ”

“ Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia , I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin, ” he tweeted .

“ I look forward to a meaningful Summit again as soon as this situation is resolved !” Trump added , shortly after taking off aboard Air Force for the two -day meeting starting Friday.

The cancellation coincided with a new eruption in the controversy over whether Putin’ s government meddled to help elect Trump to the White House .

Trump again ridiculed probes into the allegations and accused his former lawyer Michael Cohen of lying , after Cohen pled guilty to misleading Congress .

In Moscow , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said prior to Trump ’ s Twitter announcement that even if it may be “ impossible ” to agree on all issues , “ we need to talk ” for the sake of global stability .

– Tough talking –

Reacting afterwards , Peskov said Russia had not been informed formally by the White House .

“ If that is the case , the president ( Putin) will have a few extra hours in his program for useful meetings on the sidelines of the summit . ”

While the Putin meeting now appears off , Trump is still slated to sit down with President Xi Jinping on the G20 margins to press for wholesale reform of the world ’ s second – biggest economy in favor of access for US companies .

After heaping huge tariffs on Chinese goods , and threatening more to come in January , Trump said a ceasefire to the trade war was “ very close ” — but cast doubt on whether he even wanted one .

“ I think China wants to make a deal . I am open to making a deal but frankly I like the deal that we have right now , ” the president said .

Referring to the China tariffs , he said : “ What we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of taxes . ”

However , economists and critics of the president ’ s trade policies point out duties are paid by importers and thus constitute a tax on US industry and consumers that is not paid by China .

Trump ’ s tough talking set the stage for a contentious gathering in Argentina with the tensions over Ukraine and trade deepening fissures carved open by the US president on climate change — an issue that nearly torpedoed last year ’ s G20 .

It is likely to be to the fore of the meeting of European leaders called by Macron , along with demands to resist the trade protectionism now stalking the world economy 10 years after the first G20 summit was held in the throes of financial crisis .

– Xi pledges China ‘ efforts ’ –

In an interview with Argentine daily La Nacion , the French president warned against the risk of “ a destructive trade war for all ” emanating from the G20 discussions .

“ If we do not show concrete progress , our international meetings become useless and even counterproductive , ” he said .

Trump has repeatedly shown his disdain for international summitry by blocking final communiques at other recent gatherings such as the G 7 and the Asia -Pacific bloc APEC .

G20 sources said climate change was emerging as the biggest stumbling block to agreement on a communique in Buenos Aires .

Trump now has an ally on that issue in Brazil ’ s incoming , far – right president Jair Bolsonaro , their skepticism defying scientists ’ increasingly urgent warnings that the planetary threat is real and needs policy redress now .

G20 countries account for four -fifths of the world ’ s economic output but the group ’ s consensus on the biggest challenges is under assault as other members such as Italy and Mexico also fall under the sway of populist governments .

En route to Argentina , Xi vowed on Wednesday that China would “ make a lot of efforts to speed up market access , improve the investment environment and increase protection of intellectual property . ”

But foreign firms in China complain that such promises are all too routine , and analysts doubt that Trump and Xi ’ s talks over a working dinner will serve up much beyond a commitment to negotiate further .

The G 20 summit is already confronted with dire warnings , by the International Monetary Fund among others, of the potential harm faced by the world economy from Trump ’ s tariffs on Chinese goods and his stated threats of action to come against European and Japanese cars.

The IMF said Trump ’ s threatened auto tariffs could lop three – quarters of a percent off the global economy .

( AFP )

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