The second day of G20 began with the US President, who tweeted in the early morning that he was planning to meet with President Xi of China, and then he would be “leaving Japan for South Korea (with President Moon).” He also noted that he would visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South Korea and the North as part of his upcoming visit to Seoul, saying that if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would also be there at his invitation, they would see each other "for two minutes."
“I don't know where [Kim] is right now, he may not be in North Korea, but I've said if Chairman Kim would want to meet, I'll be at the border … We’ll see. If he’s there we’ll see each other for two minutes. That’s all we can. But that will be fine," Trump told reporters later at the beginning of his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud on the G20 summit sidelines.
The White House said this morning that President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman discussed US-Iran tensions, trade, and human rights. Trump reportedly told Saudi Crown Prince that he has "done really a spectacular job" opening the country for new opportunities, including for women.
After this, the leaders held two sessions. The session on climate change, scheduled for today, is expected to be one of the more contentious ones, with some governments far apart on how to reduce plastic litter that's polluting oceans. Japan’s News agency Kyodo reported that the leaders of the G20 as a whole are ready to agree with the goal of reducing emissions of plastic waste to zero by 2050. However, there is no clear agreement on other aspects of ecology between the leaders. For example, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he would not sign the final communiqué if it does not mention the Paris Climate Agreement, which entered into force in 2016.
The Group of 20 leaders have also joined their host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in showcasing support for helping women close the gap with men in finance and other forms of economic empowerment during the second session.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that during their bilateral meeting, Putin and Merkel are likely to discuss holding the next meeting on the Ukrainian crisis settlement in the so-called Normandy Four format.
Earlier on Saturday, Peskov said that Putin addressed the Normandy format talks during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Osaka on Friday. Both presidents have noted the need to re-energize the talks, which include Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France.
Putin also held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The sides talked about bilateral investment cooperation, as Putin hailed growing bilateral trade and the rising flow of Russian tourists to Turkey. They also discussed the delivery of the S-400 air defence systems, agreeing that it should start without delay. Erdogan will also hold talks with the US President later today, and the issue of the delivery of the Russian missile defence system is expected to be one of the topics.
Meanwhile, Trump sat down for talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, speaking of good intentions as the meeting began Saturday, beginning one of the most anticipated meetings on the sidelines of the summit. Trump said he believed the meeting would be “very productive”, while Xi recounted the era of "ping-pong diplomacy" which helped jump-start US-China relations two generations ago and suggested that "cooperation and dialogue are better than friction and confrontation."