Mounting tension in the Middle East will negatively affect global economy, Russian President Vladimir Putin, host of the currently-held G20 Summit, warned on Friday. Speaking at a news conference at the summit venue in the ancient city of Saint Petersburg, Putin said he and the other G20 leaders discussed the Syrian strife, noting that the United States, Britain, France, Canada and Saudi Arabia were supportive of employing military force against Syria. Leaders of other states taking part in the top-level convention, namely Russia, China, India and Indonesia, Argentina, Italy and South Africa expressed opposition to the military option against the Damascus regime, Putin added. Putin charged that Syrian opposition groups masterminded the August 21 chemical attack on civilians in the Damascus suburbs in a bid to draw their international allies into the conflict. The United Nations Security Council is the sole international power that gives authority for using force within framework of international relations, Putin argued. He described discussions he held with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, on the Syrian question as "constructive," adding that the atmosphere of the talks were "cordial", however, each side retained "his opinions and the divisions persisted." Putin also said that he agreed with Obama to continue contacts regarding prospects of settling the Syrian crisis with political means. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart, John Kerry, will resume contacts to address the issue as soon as possible, the Russian leader added. In response to a question about prospects of a military strike on Syria, Putin said Moscow would offer "military and economic and humanitarian support for Syria" in face of such an eventuality. Obama has been seeking to rally international support for military action against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad as punishment for the recent employment of chemical arms that reportedly left scores of deaths among civilians. Russia has vowed to back up the regime, its long-time regional ally. Both the US and Russia have stationed warships in the Mediterranean, coinciding the present regional tension and intensive tit-for-tat rhetoric over the issue. Meanwhile, Itar-Tass news agency confirmed that Putin and Obama held a 20-minute meeting on sidelines of the G20 Summit, adding that the two sides could not resolve the existing differences on Syria. The G20 leaders grouped in the ancient Russian city, originally, to address global economic issues, but the Syrian crisis has apparently overshadowed their deliberations. They had held a previous conference at this level after the global economic crisis broke out in 2008. Russia has been a main ally and arms supplier to the Syrian regime since era of the late Syrian president, Hafez Al-Assad. (end)
