World leaders arrive for G20 summit in Buenos Aires
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The G20 Summit in Argentina kicked off with world leaders huddling on the sidelines to discuss their response to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen discussing the death with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who appeared to be ignored during the group’s official “family photo” portrait session.
Meanwhile, confusion remains over whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet during the summit.
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The president kicked off Friday morning with a series of angry tweets after the White House reaffirmed he had cancelled an expected discussion with Mr Putin, despite the Kremlin claiming otherwise.
“Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail...,” he tweeted.
“....Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn’t do the project. Witch Hunt!”
Reports suggest Mr Trump is in a “terrible mood” and “completely distracted” as he headed to the event.
The president responded to news of Mr Cohen’s plea deal by saying he was a “weak person and not a very smart person.”
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Mr Trump will be having a number of meetings at the summit in Buenos Aires starting the day at 6.50am local time and finishing 10.10pm. He said on Thursday he had cancelled a meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, due to the country’s conflict with Ukraine.
The president has downgraded a number of his bilateral meetings as he feels “there’s nothing in them for him”, according to CNN.
Issues such as the trade war between the US and China and the conflict over Ukraine are likely to dominate the agenda.
Ahead of the summit Mr Trump said current tariff levels on Chinese imports would rise as planned.
The summit is being held in South America for the first time and Michael Shifter, head of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, said G20 summits wer once considered an opportunity for Latin American members Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to shape the global agenda.
“That turned out to be a fleeting aspiration,” Mr Shifter said.
“...Argentine president Mauricio Macri, the summit’s host, has lowered expectations. ... Now a success would be a summit meeting that goes smoothly, without any major disruption.”
G20 leaders are attending a cultural show at the Colon Theater, the landmark in the Argentine capital and one of the world's great opera houses.
Donald Trump, Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, and Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, were among the dignitaries who joined for a leaders' photo before they took their seats at the stately Belle Epoque building, which was founded in 1908.
The show features videos celebrating Argentina's majestic landscapes as well as dancing and music that goes from a philharmonic orchestra, to rock, to the Argentine Tango.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin found an unusual way to explain why Russia was justified in seizing Ukrainian naval ships near Crimea — he took out pen and paper and drew a map.
Officials in the office of France's president, Emmanuel Macron, said when Mr Putin and Mr Macron met on Friday, Mr Putin pulled out a sheet of white paper and sketched out the Ukrainian coast and the disputed waters where the weekend incident took place.
The French officials said Mr Macron asked for documents proving Russia's claims, and insisted on the need for restraint in the conflict.
Ukraine contends its ships were in international waters, while Russia claims the boats violated its maritime border.
Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014, and neither Ukraine nor Western powers recognize the territory as Russian.
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