Mideast Problems Command Obama Attention on Summit Sidelines

President Barack Obama huddled with allies Monday on the sidelines of an international summit to address pressing Mideast problems
Mideast Problems Command Obama Attention on Summit Sidelines
President Barack Obama speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais
The Associated Press
Updated:

ELMAU, Germany—President Barack Obama huddled with allies Monday on the sidelines of an international summit to address pressing Mideast problems while trying to convince European leaders to maintain sanctions against Russia in the face of fresh violence in Ukraine.

Obama participated in the final day of the Group of Seven summit under the strain of an intimidating list of global pressures and little signs of movement to address them among the world’s largest industrial democracies.

Climate change and terrorism topped the official agenda, but leaders also grappled with Russia’s aggressive moves on Ukraine, an upcoming nuclear deadline with Iran, tenuous trade pact politics and an impasse over Greece’s international bailout.