G20 summit: Angela Merkel's plane 'makes emergency landing' on way to Argentina
The summit is set to get started on Friday, and the stakes are high for the leaders attending in Argentina
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump has called off expected bilateral talks with Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires amid increasing tensions surrounding the Russia-Ukraine crisis and explosive reports the president's former lawyer lied about a Trump Tower project in Moscow.
As world leaders began to arrive in Argentina ahead of the start of the summit on Friday, tensions surround Russia's current stand-off with Ukraine over the Kerch Strait in the Sea of Azov, where the Russian navy captured three of its neighbours vessels over a territorial dispute on Sunday. Mr Trump tweeted while on his way to the annual summit that he was cancelling his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, writing, "Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin."
German chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to address the situation, which has seen Ukraine implement martial law in 10 regions, before Mr Trump and Mr Putin sit down on Saturday, as well as other worlds leaders, who plan to discuss the conflict along with a multitude of other high-profile global concerns. But, in a quirk that shows that international travel is never easy, Ms Merkel's plane was forced to make an unexpected landing in Germany — and she will not be able to attend the opening of the G20 summit.
Beyond the situation in Ukraine, the stakes are high for those attending, and that is especially true for Mr Trump, who is hoping to finish signing a reworked trade deal with Canada and Mexico — and find common ground with China to try to divert a potential escalation in trade relations that has already led to tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in imports for both countries. Days before the G20, Mr Trump suggested that failure to negotiate adequately during a dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping could lead to even further tariffs.
Meanwhile, the meeting is the first high profile meeting of world leaders since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi officials in Turkey, and world leaders are taking varied approaches in how they deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of overseeing the murder of the journalist. Mr Trump is not expected to meet with the crown prince, while French President Emmanuel Macron is going ahead with a meeting. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that he would not schedule a meeting with the Saudi leader.
In Buenos Aires, security has ben ramped up as officials prepare for the high profile summit, and residents of the city have been advised to take a long weekend away if possible. Meanwhile, thousands of anti-capitalist protesters are expected in the city.
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Perhaps lost a bit in the bombshell news that Mr Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen had reached yet another plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller's probe are some comments from the president that he believes he is in good position to reach a trade deal with China at the upcoming summit in Argentina.
The stakes are pretty high: The president in recent days has suggested that he may impose further tariffs on China if a deal is not struck when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which could further escalate the tariff tensions that began when Mr Trump announced taxes on imports of over $200 billion in Chinese goods.
Those tariffs led China to impose tariffs on American goods, too, which has stymied the ability of American companies and farmers to sell goods to China.
There are some more changes to President Donald Trump's plans for the G20 summit in Argentina this week.
While it had been reported that Mr Trump planned on sitting down with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, those meetings will be "pull-asides". That means that the meetings between the international leaders will be informal, and potentially very brief.
We have some more information on the decision making process leading up to the cancellation of the meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.
According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, Mr Trump consulted with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and National Security Adviser John Bolton before making the decision. Mr Bolton was in Brazil at the time.
Ms Sanders said that she was not aware of any direct call between the president and Mr Putin after the decision was made, but indicated that Washington and the Kremlin had communicated through other channels.
The G20 summit in Argentina is of particular importance to India and its prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Mr Modi has already arrived in Argentina where has mentioned on social media that he plans to lead discussions with international allies regarding sustainable growth practices — an issue that India has sought to lead on.
Mr Modi will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on his first day in Argentina, and plans further meetings that include Japan, Russia, China, and the United States.
Argentinian President Mauricio Macri has signed a decree making Friday a national holiday in the country as officials in Buenos Aires have ramped up security ahead of the G20 summit, which kicks off on Friday.
The world's most powerful leaders have either arrived or are making their way to Buenos Aires on Thursday, where much of the country's capital has been shut down for the meetings.
The Argentinian government has urged anyone in Buenos Aires who is not participating in the G20 to leave the city if possible.
"Our recommendation is to use the long weekend to get away," Patricia Bullrich, an Argentinian security minister, said on television, according to Reuters. "Take off after work on Thursday because the city is going to get very challenging. Our security measures will be very strong and the decisions that we will make if there is violence will be immediate."
Planned security measures are pretty extensive, with public transportation being stopped, flights diverted, and a considerable security apparatus in place for any G20 protests that may break out.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's plane was forced to make an unscheduled landing on its way to Argentina for the G20 meeting.
The landing reportedly took place roughly one hour into the 15-hour trip, and saw the plane diverted back to Cologne.
The exact cause was not immediately clear, but multiple news outlets indicated that the plan may have had technical issues with its communications technology.
With the G20 summit set to start up on Friday, protesters are prepared to show up and show their dissatisfaction with the meeting of top international leaders.
Thousands of anti-capitalist demonstrators are expected on the streets of Buenos Aires, where they plan on speaking up against the supposed secrecy of the meetings, according to the Buenos Aires Times. Meanwhile, officials in the city say they will not tolerate the demonstrators.
“The issues that will be discussed behind closed doors at the G20 summit, will be open to discussion for us,” said Javier Echaide, a professor of international law at Buenos Aires University, told that newspaper of his planned protest.
Many international leaders are on their way to Buenos Aires right now for the G20, and the meetings could have significant impacts on world trade — especially as far as Mr Trump is concerned.
The US, Mexico, and Canada are all set to sign a new trade pact on Friday, but the three countries are still ironing out some last minute details, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday.
Ms Freeland is already in Argentina, and said that Canadian officials plan on speaking to their American and Mexican counterparts on Thursday.
All eyes are on the G20 summit to see how Mr Trump and other international leaders get along as they tackle tough issues including trade.
That includes Wall Street investors keen on seeing how things work out between the US and China.
“The market is taking a bit of a pause after a significant rally yesterday, and are in anticipation of the G20 Summit this week,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley FBR in New York, told Reuters. “It is very difficult to make a prediction as to how the commentary out of G20 might go. When you don’t know, you tend to take a risk-off stance.”
Financial and commodities markets are closely watching the outcome of the summit, especially the planned meeting between Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A slowdown in the global economy will worsen if Mr Trump presses ahead with plans to further increase tariffs on some $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25 per cent, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretary General Jose Angel Gurria told Reuters.
Mr Gurria said the impact of existing US trade tariffs of 10 per cent on Chinese goods amounted to a loss of 0.2 per cent of global gross domestic product by 2020.
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