The Los Angeles Times published an article by Kathleen Hennessey, Sergei Loiko and Christi Parsons headlined "Obama gets cold shoulder from Putin, but will seek backing elsewhere."
"President Obama hopes to emerge from a two-day summit with some international support for a military strike on Syria, but his toughest reception will come from his host, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who chose not to meet him Thursday when he arrived at the airport," the article reads.
"In the days before the Group of 20 economic summit, the leaders appeared to soften their sometimes sharp rhetoric toward each other. But relations between them, already frayed by an impasse over Syria, were deeply strained by Putin's refusal to extradite Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details of U.S. surveillance programs."
"It appears unlikely that Obama and Putin will meet formally. White House officials said Thursday that the two leaders would have opportunities for "interactions" on the sidelines. Obama canceled a one-on-one meeting in Moscow after Snowden was granted temporary asylum in Russia, a decision that irked Putin," the authors write.
"In the run-up to his encounter with Obama, Putin sent mixed signals on Syria. He has said he would be open to a military strike on Syria, if the U.S. could tie the alleged Aug. 21 poison gas attack in Damascus suburbs to President Bashar Assad's military. But the Russian leader also made it clear that he had no confidence in U.S. intelligence reports. And, hours before Obama's arrival, Putin accused U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry of lying to Congress about the situation in Syria," the article reads. "White House officials privately doubt that Putin would support a strike."
According to the authors, Obama doesn't believe in China's support as well so will focus on America's European allies.
"Obama plans to meet with China's leader Friday but does not expect President Xi Jinping's support for a U.S. strike. Rather, Obama is focused on his European allies. He will meet Friday with French President Francois Hollande, who has backed military action and pressed European leaders to condemn the Syrian government."
