Obama’s international debut

In his first presidential turn on the world stage, President Obama met with world leaders at the G-20 economic summit in London.

In his first presidential turn on the world stage, President Obama this week met with other world leaders in London and urged them to “pick up the pace” of efforts to stimulate the global economy. Attending the G-20 economic summit, Obama acknowledged the U.S. role in the meltdown, including “a regulatory system that was inadequate.” But he said similar mistakes were made throughout Europe. “I am less interested in identifying blame than in fixing the problem,” he said. But he ran into resistance, especially from France and Germany over his call for greater public spending to stimulate European economies.

Obama held private talks with world leaders, including his first meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao, whom Obama agreed to meet later this year in China, and with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, whom Obama pledged to meet in Moscow in July. In a joint statement, the U.S. and Russian leaders acknowledged “differences,” but said they would work to reduce nuclear stockpiles. They also urged Iran to “address the international community’s concerns” about its nuclear program.

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