China
warned on Thursday that military intervention in Syria would hurt the
world economy and push up oil prices, reinforcing Vladimir Putin's
attempts to talk US President Barack Obama out of air strikes.
Putin was isolated on Syria at a Group of Eight meeting in June, the last big meeting of world powers, but now has China to back him at the G20 summit in Russia's former imperial capital.
"Military action would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price - it will cause a hike in the oil price," Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told a briefing before the start of the G20 leaders' talks.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated that any party resorting to chemical warfare should accept responsibility for it but said unilateral military actions violate international law and would complicate the conflict.
Like Moscow, Beijing has veto powers on the United Nations Security Council. Obama is unlikely to win Security Council approval for military action but is seeking the approval of the US Congress.
Putin has said he would like to hold one-on-one talks with Obama but a Kremlin spokesman said no such meeting was planned. Last month, Obama pulled out of talks with Putin that had been scheduled for Wednesday, and US-Russian ties are in freefall.
Foreign ministers from key states in the G20 - which includes all five permanent UN Security Council members - will also discuss Syria on the sidelines of the meeting.
Any G20 decision on Syria would not be binding but Putin would like to see a consensus to avert military action in what would be a significant triumph on international law.
Russia and China also joined forces in warning about the potential impact of the Fed ending its bond-buying programme to stimulate the economy. Zhu urged the United States to be "mindful of the spillover effects and work to contribute to the stability of the global financial markets and the steady recovery of the global economy".
In particular, Zhu warned leaders ahead of the G20 summit that a US military strike on Syria could have negative consequences on the world economy, particularly on rising oil prices.
Source and full story: Voice of Russia and agencies
Putin was isolated on Syria at a Group of Eight meeting in June, the last big meeting of world powers, but now has China to back him at the G20 summit in Russia's former imperial capital.
"Military action would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price - it will cause a hike in the oil price," Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told a briefing before the start of the G20 leaders' talks.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated that any party resorting to chemical warfare should accept responsibility for it but said unilateral military actions violate international law and would complicate the conflict.
Like Moscow, Beijing has veto powers on the United Nations Security Council. Obama is unlikely to win Security Council approval for military action but is seeking the approval of the US Congress.
Putin has said he would like to hold one-on-one talks with Obama but a Kremlin spokesman said no such meeting was planned. Last month, Obama pulled out of talks with Putin that had been scheduled for Wednesday, and US-Russian ties are in freefall.
Foreign ministers from key states in the G20 - which includes all five permanent UN Security Council members - will also discuss Syria on the sidelines of the meeting.
Any G20 decision on Syria would not be binding but Putin would like to see a consensus to avert military action in what would be a significant triumph on international law.
Russia and China also joined forces in warning about the potential impact of the Fed ending its bond-buying programme to stimulate the economy. Zhu urged the United States to be "mindful of the spillover effects and work to contribute to the stability of the global financial markets and the steady recovery of the global economy".
In particular, Zhu warned leaders ahead of the G20 summit that a US military strike on Syria could have negative consequences on the world economy, particularly on rising oil prices.
Source and full story: Voice of Russia and agencies
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