The Bonn G20 summit is the first meeting of the so-called "like-minded" nations since US President Donald Trump took office in January. European leaders seem cautiously optimistic about upcoming Syrian peace talks.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca/C. Karadag
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Foreign ministers from G20 countries discuss Syria conflict
"We believe that Russia can play a constructive role," France's Jean-Marc Ayrault said, referring to upcoming peace talks in Geneva.
The Bonn summit was the first meeting of the so-called "like-minded" nations - made up of about a dozen Western and Arab countries as well as Turkey - since US President Donald Trump took office in January.
Germany's Sigmar Gabriel said Russia's support was crucial for progress to happen at peace talks.
"On its own the regime in Damascus won't conduct any serious negotiations," he said.
Ayrault reiterated France's position that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad could not form part of a future Syrian government, adding that Europe wouldn't finance the rebuilding of the country if he is.
Demonstrators descend on G20 foreign ministers’ meeting
Protest groups had promised not to let the two-day meeting in Bonn go undisturbed. They demanded G20 nations withdraw from conflicts in the Middle East and take responsibility for migrants still arriving in Europe.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Kaiser
Demonstration in Bonn
Formed to coordinate an international agenda promoting financial stability, the G20 has steadily moved beyond its role as an economic council, encompassing everything from climate change to anti-corruption. Around 300 demonstrators gathered outside Bonn's contemporary German history museum on Thursday decrying the meeting of G20 nations' foreign ministers as exclusive and under representative.
Image: DW/M. Morris
The G20 is "under representative"
Although the G20 represents 90 percent of global GDP and 65 percent of the global population, organizations including Network of the German Peace Movement, German leftist party Die Linke, the German Communist Party (DKP) and the Bonn Kurdistan Solidarity Committee condemned the group as not working towards international policies that meet the needs of the broader population.
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An American debut
Thursday’s meeting was US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s much-anticipated international debut. “I hope global leaders put pressure on the Trump administration and Rex Tillerson,” said Ohio native Leigh Redemer. "He’s already insulted some of our major, longtime allies, meanwhile has refused to criticize other countries like Russia...I think he’s a danger to Americans and to other countries."
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Unhappy with America's new reputation
"I’m just not really happy with some of the decisions the government back home is making and I just want to show that not all Americans think that way," said Jeremy, originally from Connecticut. The 36-year-old added he was not confident President Trump has a firm grasp on the complexities of foreign relations and the importance of structures like the European Union and the G20.
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Advocating for political prisoners
“Freedom for all political prisoners,” shout members of NAV-DEM, an association of Kurdish clubs in Germany. Alongside other groups, they rallied for G20 nations to demand Turkey release Abdullah Oclan, a Kurdish nationalist leader and one of the founding members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. He has been imprisoned in Turkey since 1999 for involvement in the formation of an armed organization.
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Concerns over the conflict in Syria
"Say it loud, say it clear: refugees are welcome here,” demonstrators chanted in Bonn. Protestors were critical of G20 nations' involvement in the ongoing Syrian Civil War, demanding Germany decrease military funding, withdraw from NATO and increase resources spent rescuing and housing the migrants still crossing the Mediterranean Sea daily.
Image: DW/M. Morris
Civilian deaths in the Middle East
Demonstrators fall to the ground on the city's Museum Mile. Clutching roses with chalk outlines around their bodies, protestors said they were symbolizing the civilian deaths in conflicts throughout the Middle East, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
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G20 involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts
Protestors demanded all G20 nations keep out of ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. "It’s the G20 states that take action in Syria," said Nils Jansen, a member of the Bonn Youth Movement. "It’s a war of different superpowers - Russia, USA, Germany and NATO - which is brought upon the Syrian people." It is "forcing people to flee, then closing the doors in front of the refugees."
Ayrault said the meeting was "particularly useful," noting that "it is important and absolutely instrumental for us to have a close dialogue with the United States on the Syrian issue and on many other issues."
US allies seemed assured that Washington backed a political solution to the Syrian conflict.
"All the participants want a political solution because a military solution alone won't lead to peace in Syria," Gabriel told reporters.
Cautiously optimistic
Both European leaders were cautiously optimistic that diplomats would make progress at next week's Syria talks in Geneva.
Gabriel told reporters "the proper amount of realism should be brought along" to the talks. Ayrault said, "we should not underestimate the difficulty and the danger."
Ayrault cautioned that "Russia must stop seeing members of the opposition as terrorists."
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi only came after Donald Trump phoned his Chinese counterpart to reaffirm the "One China" policyImage: picture alliance/AP Photo/B. Smialowski
Tillerson also met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the summit on Friday.
The pair discussed two-way ties between the two countries and issues of mutual concern, China's official Xinhua news agency reported
The talks were the highest level meeting between the two countries since President Donald Trump took office. Shortly after winning the election Trump appeared to step back from Washington's near-50 year "One China" policy by accepting a call from Taiwan's leader. But a conciliatory phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week restating the position cleared the way for Wang and Tillerson to meet.
US pacifies concerns about Russia
Tillerson signaled there would be no radical shift in the US policy on Russia despite Trump's pledges to seek a softer line.
Speaking after his first sitdown with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, Tillerson said the US sought cooperation with Moscow only when doing so "will benefit the American people".
