US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin have met for the first time, shaking hands at the start of a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
They will hold a longer meeting later, and say they want to repair ties damaged by crises including Russia’s alleged meddling in the US election.
Climate change and trade are set to dominate the two-day summit, with mass protests in the streets outside.
Clashes at a “Welcome to Hell” rally left 76 police officers injured.
“We are all aware of the great global challenges,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her summit opening statement.
“We know that time is short and therefore solutions very often can only be found if we are ready to compromise and work together without bending over backwards too much because, of course, we can express different views on some issues.”
Several events related to the summit were disrupted by the protests:
- US First Lady Melania Trump, due to take part in an excursion with other leaders’ spouses, was unable to leave her hotel because of demonstrators
- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble cancelled an event with school pupils due to the security situation in the city, Reuters news agency reports
What can we expect from the Trump-Putin talks?
A brief video clip posted on the German government’s Facebook page shows the two men shaking hands, and Mr Trump patting Mr Putin’s arm as they smile in the company of other leaders.
They are due to meet again in the afternoon for an hour, Russian media say, though other reports suggest it could be about 30 minutes.
According to NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander, it is likely that only four other people will be present at the meeting: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and two interpreters.
It is unclear if they will speak to reporters afterwards or to what extent media will be admitted to the meeting.
The two men have staked out opposing views on major international issues in the run-up to the summit:
- On Thursday, Mr Trump used a speech in the Polish capital Warsaw to call on Russia to stop “destabilising” Ukraine and other countries, and “join the community of responsible nations”
- Setting out his own G20 agenda in German financial newspaper Handelsblatt, Mr Putin called for US-led sanctions, imposed in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, to be lifted on his country
- Mr Putin also argued strongly in favour of the Paris climate agreement, saying it was a “secure basis for long-term climate regulation” and Russia wanted to make a “comprehensive contribution to its implementation”. President Trump, of course, has taken America out of the agreement.
While there was less mention of Syria, Washington supports some armed opposition groups, while Moscow is the main ally of President Bashar al-Assad, so the potential for a difference of opinion there too is high.
Mr Trump’s choice of words aimed at Russia in his Warsaw speech suggests he recognises the political danger of being seen as too close to Mr Putin, the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Robbins says.
Russian media have low expectations of the meeting with one observer, Fyodor Lukyanov, writing in Rossiyskaya Gazeta: “The main thing is that nothing gets worse.”
