Trump and Putin to meet face to face for first time at G20 summit

US President Donald Trump is to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for the first time at a G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.

They have both said they want to repair ties damaged by the crises in Syria and Ukraine, as well as Russia's alleged meddling in the US election.

Climate change and international trade are set to dominate the summit, which is drawing mass protests.

Clashes at a "Welcome to Hell" rally left 76 police officers injured.

By choosing to hold the summit in Hamburg, Germany's northern hi-tech powerhouse, Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking to show mass protests can be tolerated in an open democracy, correspondents say.

The G20, or Group of Twenty, is a summit for 19 countries, both developed and developing, plus the EU.

The individual countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US.

The two leaders are due to meet in the afternoon for an hour, Russian media say, though other reports suggest it could be about 30 minutes.

It is unclear if they will speak to reporters afterwards or to what extent media will be admitted to the meeting. 

After phone calls between the leaders in January and May, the White House and Kremlin released summaries of the conversations saying "What we do know is that the two men have staked out opposing views on major international issues in the run-up to the summit"

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged G20 leaders to impress upon Mr Trump that he should act as a role model in addressing climate change.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to challenge President Trump over climate change by saying that the Paris Agreement should not be renegotiated.

Another potential thorny issue at the summit is trade. Mrs. Merkel and other EU leaders have expressed their commitment to an open international trading system, while the Trump administration favours protectionism under the "America First" motto.

Meanwhile, activists first plan to blockade the city's harbour and the summit venue at Hamburg Messe and Congress Centre.

A march by children and youths is being organised later in the morning and separate gatherings - including a "Sink Capitalism" rally - are also expected.

Thursday's clashes, which continued into the night, police charged at masked protesters at the "Welcome to hell" march, which was attended by 12,000 people.

SOURCE: BBC News