Obama to attend G20 summit in Russia in September says White House

Washington, United States (4E) – The White House on Friday confirmed that U.S. President Barack Obama would participate in the G20 nations’ summit in Saint Petersburg in Russia this September.

Before that event, however, Obama will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the G8 summit, which is to be held in Northern Ireland in June.

The announcement came at a time when the relations between the two nations are at an all-time low since Obama’s first term over ongoing Syrian crisis.

Russia had widely expected Obama to visit last year but the visit never happened and the current White House announcement means he would not travel to Russia before September.

“The two presidents agreed on the need to advance a political transition to end the violence in Syria as soon as possible,” said a White House statement.

Meanwhile foreign ministers of both the countries will continue their work together on the matter when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday.

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