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2017 Hamburg G20 Meeting Thread
Topic Started: Jul 7 2017, 10:15 AM (86 Views)
Webster
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(The Guardian) Welcome to the Guardian’s coverage of the G20 summit in Hamburg, where the leaders of the world’s major economies are meeting for what looks set to be one of the most fractious gatherings in years.

The first face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at 3.45pm CET has grabbed the headlines. But with multiple major disagreements to address in a period of real global uncertainty there are many reasons why the two-day summit in the northern German port city could prove volatile both inside and – with police and protestors already clashing – outside the venue.

Issues and leaders to watch include:
--North Korea’s first successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. US president Donald Trump will seek to persuade his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to exert more pressure.
--German Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted global migration and climate change to top the summit agenda and has vowed to strongly defend the 2015 Paris climate accord with EU allies after Trump pulled the US out last month.
--Trump also faces clashes, particularly with Germany and China, over his protectionist “buy American, hire American” agenda. He is reportedly weighing punitive 20% tariffs on steel imports.
--Trump’s encounter with Putin will be closely watched: the pair disagree on foreign policy from Syria to Ukraine and North Korea, Trump on Thursday accused Russia of acting as a destabilising force, and US intelligence officials’ have repeatedly said Putin directed a major hacking operation to tip the presidential election Trump’s way.
--Trump’s talks with Xi will also be critical; the two are at odds over policy towards North Korea, trade, arms sales and territorial waters.
--Merkel’s meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also likely to be a frosty affair, with relations between Berlin and Ankara badly strained by rights abuses in the wake of Turkey’s failed coup last year.

And the summit takes place against a backdrop of mass street protests by radical, hard left and anti-globalisation activists, including up to 8,000 potentially violent extremists. Some 20,000 police are on duty and rallies have been banned in a large area of the city, which has a long history of violent protest.

Police used water canon and pepper spray on Thursday night as up to 12,000 demonstrators, some wearing masks, set off on a “Welcome to Hell” march. Cars were set alight, bottles and smoke bombs thrown, and police said 74 officers were wounded, most with minor injuries.
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Climate change was meant to have been one of the top priorities of this G20 , but the election of Donald Trump and his subsequent decision to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris accord changed all that.

No one now expects any consensus to emerge on the issue; Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, has already said it was “obvious” there was no agreement on the question and it would be “dishonest to gloss it over”.

Indeed, writes Philip Oltermann in Hamburg, Trump and Vladimir Putin could spend as little as 15 minutes discussing climate change with the other G20 leaders if the two leaders’ schedules for Friday’s first day of the summit are to be believed.

The White House’s schedule states that Trump will meet Putin for their first bilateral at 3.45 CET – a quarter of an hour after the start of a G20 working session on climate change and energy issues. Russian news agency Interfax reported that Putin and Trump would meet at 4pm.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel said the two leaders could be forced to skip the working session on climate change altogether.
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Donald Trump is up and about, if his Twitter account is anything to go by.

The US president had this to say about his visit to Warsaw yesterday, where before heading to Hamburg he delivered a highly nationalist speech saying the survival of the west was at risk from hostile forces ranging from Islamic terrorism to Russia, statism and secularism...

--My experience yesterday in Poland was a great one. Thank you to everyone, including the haters, for the great reviews of the speech! (Donald J. Trump, President of the United States - 7 July 2017)

Once in Germany, he met the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the leaders of Japan and South Korea on Thursday evening...

--After Poland had a great meeting with Chancellor Merkel and then with PM Shinzō Abe of Japan & President Moon of South Korea. (Donald J. Trump, President of the United States - 7 July 2017)
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Webster
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(The Guardian) The Guardian’s diplomatic editor takes a closer look at what can be expected form the first face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, scheduled for 3.45pm CET: The possibility that a 30 minute meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, interrupted by breaks for translation, is going to solve the Syrian, North Korean and Ukraine crises are at the lower end of zero.

Even if the meeting over-ran until the weekend after next that would still be a challenge.

Both leaders relish surprise, so it is possible one or other will spring an unexpected offer, but otherwise they are going to pick the subjects to discuss, and try to find areas of common ground on which their officials can then progress.

Putin most wants to know Trump’s Syria strategy. Unfortunately, so do most of the Republican party. Trump’s efforts to devise a strategy have emerged looking very similar to Barack Obama’s and been sent back for a rework.

The two leaders are united on driving out Islamic State, but the US appears determined to leave the areas liberated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Defence Forces under the control of the SDF, rather than hand them over to Bashar al-Assad and his allies.

Putin will want to know if Trump still believes in a unified Syrian state, and how much he objects to Assad remaining in office. Putin would also like US agreement to a no fly zone in southern Syria and clearer warnings if the US intends to strike Assad’s air force.

Trump is so unpredictable on Syria, it is likely the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, will also be taking notes.

On Ukraine, the Kiev government has been reassured that Trump is not going to backslide on sanctions, but the crisis has frozen and few have any ideas how to revive the Minsk peace process.

Trump will also want an explanation on why Russia does not believe North Korea used an ICBM this week – the unanimous view of the US scientific community.

US Democrats will want to know if he raised Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Trump is reluctant to do so, and Putin is a specialist in the implausible denial. Trump’s dilemma is simple: the more he protests Russian interference, the more he delegitimises his own mandate.
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Webster
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--@JunckerEU #G20 "Should the US introduce tariffs on European #steel imports, #Europe is ready to react immediately and adequately." (Mina Andreeva, EU Deputy Chief Spokesperson - 7 July 2017)
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Webster
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--@JunckerEU #G20 "Going back to #protectionism is not the way forward. That's why we agreed on Economic Partnership Agreeemnt with #Japan." (Mina Andreeva, EU Deputy Chief Spokesperson - 7 July 2017)
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Reports that Donald Trump has had trouble finding a hotel room in Hamburg because his team waited too long to book seem to be without foundation.

In a report picked up by several international media, the local Hamburger Abendblatt said the US government wanted to book Trump into the Four Seasons hotel but it – and every other luxury hotel in Hamburg – was full.

The Guardian’s Kate Connolly says: Speculation about this “has been rife for months, with varying rumours as to why he hadn’t apparently found hotel accommodation in Hamburg - everything from security concerns to the hotel chains turning him down.

There was even speculation he’d stay at the Adlon in Berlin, where Xi Jingping has been put up this week, because it was easier to safeguard him there, but that also appeared to be a flimsy rumour.


Philip Oltermann says the reports are simply wrong: “The senate here offered him their residence, so he hasn’t been looking recently.”
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Webster
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(The Guardian) The Guardian’s Jennifer Rankin was following the press conference earlier by EU council and commission presidents Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker and adds this: After Italy called on the rest of Europe for help in managing the large numbers of people arriving in boats from north Africa, Tusk said migration was one of the EU’s top priorities for the summit.

“Innocent lives are being lost,” said Tusk. “So far this year, more than 2000 people have died at sea and the number of people dying in the desert is even higher. We need more efforts at the international level to break the smugglers’ business model.”

He added that he would propose to all G20 leaders pursuing “targeted UN sanctions against smugglers. By this I mean asset freezes and travel bans, it is the very minimum that can be done at global level. If we do not get it, it will be a sad proof of the hypocrisy of G20 leaders, but I still hope we will succeed.”

Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, also gave his first reaction to Donald Trump’s speech in Warsaw, where the US president said for the first time he stood by the Nato common defence pact.

The EU leader said he had heard some “surprisingly promising words from the American president” on transatlantic co-operation and readiness to protect the west.

“We have been waiting for a long time to hear these words from President Trump, but the real question is whether it was a one-time incident or a long term policy.”
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Webster
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(The Guardian) British P.M. At G20 Summit
--Guardian political editor Anushka Asthana is travelling to the summit with prime minister Theresa May. She sends this: On counterterrorism, the prime minister spoke on the plane over about how her priority would be stemming access to funding for terror groups.

Asked about pressure from opposition leaders to question Saudi Arabia about its role in financing, she said: “I sit down with Saudi Arabia and others and talk about terrorist financing. But what I’m doing here at the G20 is raising the need for us to work collectively internationally to deal with terrorist financing.”

That sounds like the prime minister is not likely to be raising any direct questions with the Saudi representative – and despite heavy pressure, the government still has not published the home office report into this issue.

Pushed on climate change, after the UK did not sign up to a letter with the leaders of France, Germany and Italy expressing their disappointment at Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement, May said she was disappointed.

“I hope they will be able to find a way to come back into the Paris agreement,” she said. “I believe it is possible. We are not renegotiating the Paris agreement. That stays,” she added - firming up her language on this point.

On domestic matters, she said the election had not ended up as she hoped but: “There’s two ways the government can react to that. We can be very timid and sit back or we can be bold and that’s what we are going to be.”

And on intimidation of candidates raised by a number of Tory MPs, including Sarah Wollaston in an interview with the Guardian, she said: “There can be no place in our democracy for behaviour like that. I’m determined to do something about it. I’m determined to stamp it out.”
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Brics call for greater voice, climate cooperation
--Leaders of the so-called Brics nations – China, India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa – have met on the sidelines of the G20-summit and calling for a more open global economy, Associated Press reports.

The countries’ leaders stressed the need to increase “the voice and representation” of emerging markets and developing countries in global economic and financial institutions, and called for a “rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading system.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke out against global trade restrictions, saying financial sanctions under political pretexts hurt mutual confidence and damaged the global economy – an apparent reference to western sanctions against Russia.

The Brics leaders also urged the international community to work together to implement the Paris climate agreement, from which Donald Trump announced last month the US was withdrawing.
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Webster
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--I will represent our country well and fight for its interests! Fake News Media will never cover me accurately but who cares! We will #MAGA! (Donald J. Trump, President of the United States - 7 July 2017)

--I look forward to all meetings today with world leaders, including my meeting with Vladimir Putin. Much to discuss.#G20Summit #USA (Donald J. Trump, President of the United States - 7 July 2017)
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Webster
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(The Guardian)
Vladimir Putin has said Russia will press other G20 nations to pool their efforts more closely in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking after a meeting of the so-called BRICS nations, the Russian president said Moscow would issue a call to “jointly neutralise political, economic, social and ideological conditions allowing the expansion of terrorism.”

He added: “No nation can deal with this evil on its own and offer a reliable protection to its citizens.” Putin is expected to raise the need for closer anti-terror cooperation at his meeting with US leader Donald Trump later.
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(The Guardian) Theresa May has told the BBC the G20 leaders will try to persuade Donald Trump to rejoin the 2015 Paris climate change accord. “I believe it is possible. We’re not renegotiating the Paris agreement – that stays,” May said.

“But I want to see the United States looking for ways to rejoin it. I believe the collective message that will be given to President Trump around this table will be the importance of America coming back into that agreement, and I hope we will be able to work to ensure that can happen.”

The two leaders are due to meet for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit later on Friday.
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Webster
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(The Guardian) Guardian political editor Anushka Asthana, who is travelling with Theresa May, writes: Theresa May is holding bilateral meetings with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, alongside meetings with the leaders of China, India and the US, Downing street have told us.

They stressed that the meetings were with a string of major non-EU leaders, with May likely to want to discuss future trading possibilities. She is planning to raise North Korea, and steel dumping with President Xi this evening, ahead of the gala dinner for the world leaders and their spouses.

“The prime minister would like to see China exercising more influence over north Korea and increased action to reduce overcapacity (in steel),” a senior No 10 official said, adding that further economic cooperation and the question of Hong Kong would also come up.

They said that the meeting with the Turkish leader tomorrow would focus on counterterrorism and the Cyprus talks.
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(The Guardian) Midday Summary - 1:38pm Hamburg, 7:38am US East Coast
--World leaders are meeting in Hamburg for a potentially difficult G20 summit to address serious disagreements on a number of major issues including climate change, free trade, migration and how to tackle North Korea.

The meeting features a number of potentially awkward individual encounters, including the first face-to-face meeting between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and German Angela Merkel’s encounter with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The north German port city has also been the scene of sometimes violent protests by crowds of anti-globalisation demonstrators, some clad in black and wearing face masks. A large number of cars have been set alight and windows smashed.

Here is a midday summary:

--Key issues and encounters as potentially one of the most volatile G20 summits in years opens in Hamburg.
--What to expect from the Trump-Putin meeting, expected at 3.45pm CET.
--EU leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker warn Trump against protectionism, promising to retaliate if US president imposes punitive tariffs on steel imports.
--Britain’s priorities will be bolstering cooperation on counter-terrorism and persuading Trump to re-engage with the Paris climate accords, Theresa May says.
--German police say 111 officers injured, most of them not seriously, and 44 people arrested after Thursday nights riots.
--Brics nations – China, India, Russia, Brazil and South Africa – call for a more open global economy.
--Putin calls for greater cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
--Hamburg police ask for reinforcements amid reports of widespread rioting and car-burning.
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