Leaders gather for G20 Buenos Aires talks amid rising tensions
World leaders are meeting in Argentina for their annual G20 summit amid new tension with Russia over Ukraine and a US trade row with China.
Mr Trump initially said he would not meet Mr Putin because the three Ukrainian vessels and 24 sailors seized by Russia in the Black Sea near Crimea had not been returned. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said this morning that the two would have a “brief, impromptu” meeting.
But ahead of the summit's official start Mr Trump signed a trade deal with the Mexican and Canadian leaders. Speaking before the signing of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) - to replace NAFTA - Mr Trump described it as "probably the greatest trade deal ever."
Leaders are gathering now for opening remarks and an afternoon plenary session. There will be any number of bilateral get-togethers on the sidelines.
The most notable absence was that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose arrival at the summit has been delayed by a technical fault in her plane.
Differences over climate change could be one of the biggest obstacles to an agreed joint communiqué when the summit ends on Saturday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would refuse to sign a trade deal with South America's Mercosur bloc if Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro withdrew from the Paris climate accord.
The summit is also a diplomatic test for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid questions about his possible involvement in the murder last month of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Trade war impasse
Hopes of progress over tariffs in Mr Trump's expected talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping have been meanwhile dampened. The two economic giants are locked in a trade war, which may possibly even escalate.
President Trump said recently that current tariff levels on $200bn of Chinese imports would rise as planned. He also threatened tariffs on $267bn of other Chinese exports to the US.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, he said that while China was interested in striking a deal, "I don't know if I want to do it" and "I like the deal we have now."
Host woes
The 2018 summit, the first to be hosted by Argentina, comes amid the most serious economic crisis in the host nation since its 2001-02 collapse.
A $100 bn debt bubble during President Mauricio Macri's first two years in office (2016-17) collapsed in April, leading to $30 bn in capital flight, a halving of the peso's value, and prime rates of nearly 70% in an effort to shore up the peso.
GDP was down 5.8% from the same time last year, while inflation has risen to 55% (the highest in 27 years).
"Argentina was asked to host the G-20 summit two years ago, when foreign media coverage of Macri was almost universally positive," former Ambassador to the U.S. Jorge Argüello noted.
"Were the decision to have been taken this year, I doubt Argentina would have been chosen."
At: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46395758
The now iconic 'Baby Trump' balloon makes its way in front of the Argentine Congress.
Trump's presence at the 2018 G-20 Summit is second only to that of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in its controversy.
