6 September 2013
World leaders gathered at a G20 summit in St Petersburg, Russia remained divided over Syria after holding a working dinner to discuss the issue on Thursday night, according to the latest reports.
Aljazeera.com reported on Friday that the leaders had “failed to settle their differences over the US push for military action against Syria” following an alleged chemical attack on civilians by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
The Syria issue is proving to be a problem for G20 leaders – the discussion they really wanted at this week’s summit was on the US plan to wind down its programme to stimulate the world economy.
But Barack Obama seems preoccupied with Syria. The US president has reportedly managed to win the support of key allies for his plans to launch a “limited” strike on Syria. On Tuesday, Democrat and Republican leaders in Congress announced that that the US should respond to Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons.
Russia has led the opposition to military action against the Syrian regime, backed by China, both of whom have cautioned against any military action without the sanction of the UN Security Council.
Chinese vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao, speaking earlier on Thursday, warned the world’s most industrialised nations of the risks of military intervention, saying it would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price.
South Africa has taken the same stance, urging global leaders to rather allow the UN to intervene in Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening the G20 meeting, said that a global economic recovery was not yet assured and there were still risks of sliding back into crisis. “Our main task is returning the global economy towards steady and balanced growth,” he said.
SAinfo reporter and SAnews.gov.za
