Erdoğan meets Obama after G-20 working dinner focusing on Syrian crisis

ST PETERSBURG - Doğan News Agency / Agence France-Presse

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan walks with other G-20 leaders to a dinner event taking place at the Peterhof Palace in St. Petersburg on Sept. 5. AP photo

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the Syrian crisis with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a G-20 Summit in St Petersburg on Sept. 5.
 
The short meeting came after a working dinner on the latest developments in Syria between the leaders attending the summit. 
 
The talks were in haste and both leaders agreed to hold another tête-à-tête meeting on Sept. 6, Turkish media reports said. 
 
Erdoğan is expected to redouble his efforts to convince the world to militarily respond to Damascus’ alleged use of chemical weapons.
 
Shortly beforehand, the group of leaders, led by Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrived together at the historic Peterhof palace outside the Russian imperial capital for the first working dinner of the summit, with British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President François Hollande seen talking animatedly at the back of the pack.
 
The dinner was the first opportunity for world leaders to discuss the latest developments in the course of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, a few days after the U.S. president asked Congress to support “limited” military action targeting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
 
Earlier in the day, the Turkish prime minister conducted a speech during a session on “growth and the global economy,” in which he stressed the importance of middle-term financial strategies to revive economies. 
 
“The well-designed middle-term programs implemented with determination had a critical role in Turkey’s growth, employment and the increase of confidence in markets,” Erdoğan said.
 
Erdoğan also staged a bilateral meeting mainly focusing on Syria on the sidelines of the four-day summit with Hollande ahead of the working dinner.
 
He is also expected to hold a short meeting with Putin.