O Leading from Behind w/his head up his donkey!

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Sept 6 (Reuters) -

U.S. President Barack Obmaa persuaded nine other G20 nations plus Spain to join the United States in signing a statement calling for a strong international response to the use of chemical weapons, although it fell short of supporting military strikes,underscoring the deep disagreements that dominated the summit. I wonder what he promised to get even this, and how much it will cost us American taxpayers down the road.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin led an attempt to talk Obama out of military intervention at the two-day summit of the Group of Twenty developed and developing economies in St. Petersburg.

Leaders of the G20, which accounts for 90 percent of the world economy and two-thirds of its population, put aside their differences to unite behind a call for growth and jobs and agreed the global economy was on the mend but not out of crisis.

But there was no joint statement on Syria, despite a 20-minute one-on-one talk between Obama and Putin on the sidelines of the summit on Friday, following a tense group discussion on the civil war over dinner late on Thursday.

"We hear one another, and understand the arguments but we don't agree. I don't agree with his arguments, he doesn't agree with mine," Putin told a closing news conference dominated by questions about Syria.

Participants at the dinner said the tension between Putin and Obama was palpable but that they seemed at pains to avoid an escalation.