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.
(Reporting by Jeff
Mason; Editing by Alan Crosby)
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