U.S. President
Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin spoke for around
four minutes on Sunday at the APEC summit about Syria and Ukraine, in
what is likely to be their last in-person meeting before Obama leaves
office.
The two men met at
the start of the summit meeting in Lima, Peru’s capital. They exchanged
pleasantries and remained standing as they spoke.
“The
president urged President Putin to uphold Russia’s commitments under
the Minsk agreements, underscoring the U.S. and our partners’ commitment
to Ukraine’s sovereignty,” a White House official said.
Obama
also emphasized the need for their two countries’ foreign ministers “to
continue pursuing initiatives, together with the broader international
community, to diminish the violence and alleviate the suffering of the
Syrian people,” the official said.
After their brief talk, Obama greeted others at the meeting before sitting down.
Obama
and Putin have had a challenging relationship. The U.S. president said
last week he had warned Putin about consequences for cyber attacks
attributed to Moscow that were seen as trying to influence the U.S.
election.
During his race for the White House, Republican President-elect Donald Trump praised Putin.
