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Politics

++ G20 in Hamburg - live updates ++

July 7, 2017

The G20 summit is underway in Hamburg amid a citywide shutdown and widespread protests. Chancellor Angela Merkel urged leaders to show unity on climate change, trade and migration. Follow DW's live updates here.

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G20 Gipfel in Hamburg | Trump & Jinping & Merkel & Macri
Image: Reuters/J. MacDougall

- The two-day Group of 20 summit of the world's major economic powers is taking place in the northern German port city.

- An estimated 100,000 protesters are taking part in demonstrations against the G20, some of which have turned violent.

- German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is hosting the summit, opened the meeting by reminding delegates that they are responsible for millions of people around the world and that all parties must compromise in order to find solutions to global problems.

- US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met for the first time face-to-face on the sidelines of the summit. Trump said he had high hopes for the talks.

For more on what's expected today, read Trump and Putin take center stage as Hamburg's G20 begins

For more on last night's protest, see G20 in Hamburg: Police and protesters clash

All updates in Central European Summer Time (CEST)

20:20 Hamburg police say that they have fired a "warning shot" at protesters who refused to stand down.

19:42 On the sidelines of the summit, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confirmed that Presidents Putin and Trump had agreed on details of a truce in conflict-ridden Syria. 

"It is our first success," said Tillerson. He added that Putin directly denied any state involvement in the US presidential election, a matter that is the subject of an investigation in Washington.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added that Trump had "accepted" Putin's assurances.

19:10 "We had a very lengthy conversation," said Putin after emerging from his one-on-one discussion with US counterpart Donald Trump. They discussed Syria, Ukraine and cyber security, Putin told the press. He apologized that the lengthy talk had made him late for his next meeting, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

18:34 Presidents Trump and Putin finally emerge from their meeting after two and a half hours. According to the Associated Press, the two agreed on a plan for a cease-fire in southwestern Syria.

18:17 DW's Bernd Riegert reports that US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are still in their closed-door meeting, taking three times longer than expected. 

At the same time, Michaela Küfner says that India has canceled its press briefing, indicating that the protests outside are not the only signs of strife in Hamburg:

18:09 Hamburg police have apprehended 22 Greenpeace activists who were swimming in a restricted part of the Elbe river. 

Tonight, the visiting dignitaries will be treated to a special concert at Hamburg's brand new Elbphilharmonie concert hall.

G20 Gipfel in Hamburg | Greenpeace Protest - Donald Trump
Greenpeace activists protest President Trump's stand on climate change near the ElbphilharmonieImage: Reuters/F. Bimmer

18:01 Chancellor Merkel has acknowledged that the group's communique will touch on climate change, but said that the details would be hammered out on Saturday.

"It will be very interesting to see how we formulate the communique tomorrow and make clear that, of course, there are different opinions in this area because the United States of America regrettably ... wants to withdraw from the Paris accord," she said.

17:26 Merkel has condemned any use of violence at the G20 protests, saying anything that risked the lives of police, bystanders or demonstrators was "unacceptable."

According to a draft communique seen by French news agency AFP, the global leaders acknowledged US President Trump's divergent stance on the Paris climate accords, but called the deal "irreversible."

Although Trump has pledged to withdraw the US from the agreement, according to the document's stipulations he is not technically allowed to do so until exactly one day before the next US presidential election in 2020.

17:06 Police were using water cannons and pepper spray after some demonstrators threw rocks at security services. Authorities have said that 11 protesters were severely injured during confrontations in police, some of whom fell from a wall during the clashes.

16:32 DW's Max Hofmann reports that the situation between activists and police has entered another strained standoff in Hamburg, after a day of relatively calm protesting. Like with last night's sporadic clashes, the Black Block anti-capitalist demonstrators, who march with their faces covered, were at the center of the tension:

16:27 After greeting each other earlier in the day with a much-awaited handshake, US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have sat down for their first one-on-one talk on the sidelines of the summit. Trumps said he expected "positive things to happen."

"I'm delighted to be able to meet you personally Mr President," Putin responded. The two have talked on the phone several times since Trump took office.

Back in Washington, Trump's presidential campaign team is still being investigated for possible Russian ties.

15:59 Officers in Hamburg have deployed water cannons to disperse protesters marching towards the harbor without permission:

At the summit, the leaders sat down for their first working session of the G20.

15:42 Hamburg police are forced to confirm that they are not in fact preparing to launch a nuclear bomb, after a barrage of questions relating to a post by The Postillion satire news outlet.

According to their official Twitter page, an ongoing demonstration by trade union DGB in the Millerntorplatz area remained peaceful, though Black Block far-left activists were beginning to descend on the square.

Hamburg G20 Treffen Trum Pena Nieto
Pena Nieto met on the G20 sidelinesImage: Reuters/C. Barria

15:24 After meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on the sidelines of the G20 summit, US President Donald Trump repeated that he still wanted Mexico to pay for a wall on the southern US border. Trump also said his country had made "very good progress" on negotiating trade issues. Pena Nieto, who called Trump a "friend," said the meeting would "help us continue a very strong dialogue" on the NAFTA trade deal between the countries.

15:08 Despite the street closures, motorcades and skirmishes between protesters and police, it appears some Hamburg residents are just trying to end the week with a full pantry. This man's sign roughly translates to "I'm a resident and I'm just popping down to the supermarket. Thanks"

14:48 As the world leaders continue their closed-door discussions; their spouses are experiencing some of Hamburg's highlights, albeit with some amendments because of the ongoing protests and tense security situation in the city. The program, hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel's husband Joachim Sauer, included a boat trip around Hamburg's harbor and a visit to a climate research center. US First Lady Melania Trump had to skip the boat trip because protests prevented her from leaving her guesthouse. Instead of visiting the research center, the spouses will attend a presentation by climate scientists at a hotel. No word yet on whether Melania Trump will be able to attend that presentation, but she expressed support for those injured in protests via Twitter.

14:30 In the past hour, Hamburg police have reported that officers have been targeted with Molotov cocktails and transport officers attacked with iron bars. They also reported that during last night's clashes, officers were injured by pellets fired from slingshots.

13:52 DW political correspondent Michaela Küfner said Merkel's message sounded like an appeal for the leaders to work well together and find compromises. 

"I'd certainly read in to that message that she expects everyone to be willing to go a certain way in demonstrating that unity that the G20 of course wants, not just wants to demonstrate but that is the very essence of it. If you suddenly have diverting statements on a host of different issues, that would make this format redundant essentially." 

13:50 The program of events organized for spouses of the G20 leaders has been changed due to security concerns related to demonstrations. The group was originally supposed to visit the German Climate Computing Center, but they'll now be taken to the Hotel Atlantic Kempinski, according to sources cited by news agencies.

13:43 Despite pockets of violence, DW correspondent Thomas Sparrow said the majority of protests have been peaceful. DW's Arafatul Islam posted this video from one of the demonstrations:

13:32 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has addressed world leaders at an official welcome in Hamburg. She said millions of people had put their hopes in the G20 to help solve the world's problems, adding that progress could only be made "if we are ready to compromise."

Merkel at G20 summit: 'Millions of people are watching us'

 

13:23 German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has made it to the G20 meeting, after earlier having to skip a planned podium discussion due to the widespread protests in the city. 

13:20 Hamburg's security chief Andy Grote said the number of police officers injured in protests surrounding the G20 has increased to about 160. Grote said hundreds of additional police officers were on their way to Hamburg as reinforcements.

13:17 Pope Francis has called on G20 delegates to reject armed conflict and give "absolute priority" to the poor and marginalized in discussions at the summit. 

13:10 World leaders attending the G20 gather for their group photograph.

World leaders at the G20
The 2017 G20 'family' photoImage: Reuters/A. Schmidt

13:02 German Justice Minister Heiko Maas has warned that rioting protesters will face criminal prosecution. In comments carried by the Rheinische Post newspaper, he said people committing violent acts "under the guise of the right to demonstrate" could expect to "answer for their actions in court.

12:50 German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has condemned individuals behind the violent protests in Hamburg.

"I understand the criticism of the G20 summit, and I share a lot of it," he told the Passauer Neuen Presse newspaper, but added that in democratic countries "it should be possible for heads of state and government from all over the world to meet with each other."

"The world won't get better if governments can't talk to each other," he said.

12:45 US first lady Melania Trump is unable to leave her residence in Hamburg to attend G20 events due to security reasons, her spokeswoman, quoted by German news agency dpa, said.

12:28 The spouses of leaders attending the G20 have embarked on a sightseeing tour of Hamburg with Chancellor Angela Merkel's husband, Joachim Sauer. The first lady of the US, Melania Trump, skipped the first part of the program, which included a boat ride in the city's harbour. Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, and Theresa May's husband Philip May were both on board. Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was also there with their 3-year-old son, Hadrien.

The group is expected to visit a climate change research center in the afternoon.

12:04 British Prime Minister Theresa May says G20 leaders will try and persuade US President Donald Trump to rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change.

"I believe it is possible," she told BBC television, but stressed that the pact should not be renegotiated. "The collective message that will be given to President Trump around this table will be the importance of America coming back in to that agreement and I hope we will be able to work to ensure that can happen."

12:00 Protesters may not have stopped world leaders from gathering at the G20 summit, but they did manage to dissuade one German minister.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble did not attend a podium discussion as planned on Friday due to the tense security situation, organizers said. The discussion, called "G20 Global Classroom" was supposed to include students from several countries.

11:40 Hamburg police said that this morning one of their helicopters was shot at with a signal flare, which narrowly missed. Twitter user Anna-Lena Punken captured the incident on video.

German news agency DPA reports that the police have requested backup from across Germany due to the "many crimes" being committed at protests surrounding the G20. Meanwhile, the summit itself began without incident.

11:35 As the politicians' meetings get underway, residents of Hamburg are taking stock of the mess left by a day's worth of scuffles between police and protesters. DW's Fanny Facsar checked out some of the damage:

11:28 Trump and Putin have had their first handshake at the G20, according to the Kremlin. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the two leaders "shook hands and told each other that they will shortly have a separate meeting."

G20 Gipfel in Hamburg | Trump & Putin
President Trump has been under intense scrutiny at home for his team's alleged ties to RussiaImage: Reuters/Courtesy of Bundesregierung/S. Kugler

11:13 The BRICS group of major emerging market countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) has called for the G20 to push the implementation of the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change and declared support for a " rules-based, transparent, non discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading system, implementation and enforcement of existing WTO rules an commitments" as well as an opposition to protectionism. The positions put them at odds with US President Donald Trump who pulled his country out of the Paris deal and vowed an "America First" approach to trade.

10:35 DW political correspondent Michaela Küfner believes Chancellor Angela Merkel will have trimmed her ambitions for this G20 summit, in light of a setback after the G7 summit in Sicily in May.

"This is pretty much a damage limitation exercise this G20 summit on the side of the German chancellor. After the G7 summit there followed this departure, this decision, by Donald Trump to leave the Paris climate agreement, so that is pretty much a dead loss. In terms of this final statement (on climate change) there clearly is no common language on that. There simply are opposing ideas."

"At the same time on trade, there are also opposing views. The German chancellor believes that trade can be conducted - should be conducted - on a multilateral basis where everyone can win. On the other hand, Donald Trump belives that there's always one side that wins and one that loses."

10:33 US President Donald Trump has been greeted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Following a warm handshake with the chancellor, Trump made a fist pump gesture to the cameras on his way out.

Deutschland G20 Begrüßung der Teilnehmer durch Merkel
Trump and Merkel are being closely watched at the G20Image: Reuters/A. Schmidt

10:28 Speaking alongside Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk described Donald Trump's speech in Warsaw as "surprising" and "diplomatic." In Poland on Thursday, Trump chastised Russia and stated his support for Transatlantic ties and the mutual defense commitments of the NATO alliance.

"We have been waiting for a long time to hear these words from President Trump," Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, said. "But the real question is whether it was a one-time incident or a new policy. President Trump said yesterday in Warsaw, that words are easy but it is actions that matter, and the first test will be our meeting here in Hamburg."

10:20 German Chancellor and G20 host Angela Merkel is personally greeting each leader with a handshake and photo opportunity. Fun fact: Merkel was born in Hamburg. Read more on the challenges facing her this summit here: G20: A summit full of contradictions.

10:12 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived at the G20 venue. He had hoped to use the trip as an opportunity to address Turks living in Germany, but that request was denied by the German government. Read more: Germany doubles down on Erdogan rally ban during G20.

10:04 Hamburg police said in a statement that as of 08:00 Friday, 111 police officers have been injured in clashes with protesters and 44 people have been detained. Authorities do not have a clear tally of how many demonstrators or bystanders have been injured. Police said about 12,000 people took part in last night's demonstration, adding that 10,000 of the participants were peaceful.

9:51 EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has told a press conference in Hamburg that "protectionism would be the wrong path to take." He said EU states were coming to the summit with "more wind in their sails" and needed to "use the opportunity" to advocate for reform. In an apparent dig at US President Donald Trump, Juncker said a new EU-Japan trade deal showed Europeans were not putting up "protectionist walls."

09:39 Despite the efforts of protesters to block the way in, world leaders are steadily arriving at the summit venue - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker are among those to have arrived in the past few minutes. Earlier, Trudeau had told Germany's mass-selling newspaper Bild that G20 leaders would tell US President Donald Trump he should take a lead in addressing climate change - and the same was true of global trade.

G20 Hamburg Proteste
Activists tried to block the way to the G20, to no availImage: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Scholz

"Instead of saying we'll stop trade, we need to create opportunities for smaller companies and protect workers' rights with progressive trade agreeements like CETA," Trudeau said, referring to the trade deal between the EU and Canada.

09:33 Police have deployed water cannon at a sit-in north of the city center and asked demonstrators to "leave the road peacefully." DW's Henrik Böhme sent this footage from one of the many sit-ins: 

09:29 French President Emmanuel Macron has touched down in Hamburg, greeted by Hamburg's Mayor Olaf Scholz.

09:23 A summary of the morning's events: Demonstrators in several areas of Hamburg have tried to block transport routes and prevent G20 participants from reaching the venue. Police cars have also been torched in the city's Altona district.

09:12 US President Donald Trump seems to have woken up on the right side of the bed this morning, describing his experience in Poland yesterday, as well as his meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese President Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as "great."

  

08:50 Hamburg police report that some groups of protesters are seeking to block transport routes in the city. In the waterfront Veddel area police are accompanying a march assembled under the banner "Shut down the logistics of capital." The protesters are also chanting for freedom of movement across borders.

08:45 DW's Thomas Sparrow is in the Altona area of Hamburg where the clean-up after last night's clashes has begun.

08:20 German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to officially kick off this year's G20 summit by welcoming world leaders, followed directly by talks on fighting terrorism, her spokesman said on Twitter.

Trade and climate change are also on the docket for Day 1, finishing with a concert at Hamburg's recently-completed Elbphilharmonie concert hall.


08:00 DW's Bernd Riegert is in Hamburg, and summed up the major issues expected to shape the summit.

Read more: Trump and Putin taken center stage as Hamburg's G20 Begins

07:30 Following an uneasy night of clashes between security forces and protesters Hamburg, Friday was off to a similarly rocky start as hundreds of protesters gathered in an attempt to march into the high security "red zone."

DW's Thomas Sparrow reported that police were deployed at 7:30 a.m. and that smoke could be seen hovering over the streets of Hamburg.

In Hamburg's Altona neighborhood, police confirmed on Twitter that people had set fire to "several parked cars" and set off pyrotechnics.

se, es/rc (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)