September 9, 2013
Lauren Staehle
Columnist
POTUS
From Washington, D.C., Lauren Staehle, POTUS columnist
This week President Obama journeyed to St. Petersburg, Russia for the annual G-20 summit. The president first made a detour to Stockholm, Sweden, where he met with Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt and paid a visit to King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia. The trip to Stockholm was a much-needed prelude to the G-20 summit, where undoubtedly, President Obama would face difficult questions and opinions about U.S. involvement in Syria.
President Obama, the first sitting president to visit Stockholm, left around 8:30pm Tuesday night, and arrived in Sweden around 10:00am on Wednesday. The president was ceremoniously greeted with marching bands and the country’s traditional Royal Life Guards (The Honorary Guard and Color Guard). Within those two units are the Grenadiers and an Honorary Guard. The guards were fashioned in the traditional style, complete with helmet and plume, and epaulettes. The Band of the Royal Swedish Army, which plays at state ceremonials and within defense forces, played the Anthem, Under Blagul Fana (Under a Blue and Yellow Flag) by Victor Widkvisk.
The president was greeted by about seven officials, among whom were Ambassador Caroline Vicini, Foreign Minister Car Bildt and Ambassador Jonas Hafström. The President then made his way to the Grand Hotel where he would meet with Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt. Crowds were gathered along the highway and a large U.S. flag was even spotted waving amongst the throngs.
President Obama and Prime Minister Reinfeldt shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and then headed to the Rosenbad building where the Prime Minister’s office is located. Officials from both governments were present at the joint press conference that took place at the Rosenbad. Following that meeting, the motorcade went on to Stockholm’s Great Synagogue, and the president, wearing a white yarmulke, examined artifacts from the life of Raoul Wallenberg, the diplomat who rescued Hungarian Jews from the Nazis.
The final stop of the day was at the Royal Institute of Technology, where President Obama and Prime Minister Reinfeldt looked at energy based projects created by the students. Among the three projects was a small car powered by fuel cells.
President Obama attended a dinner that evening with Nordic leaders at Sager House, the home of the Prime Minister. The president of Finland, the Prime Minister of Norway and the Prime Minister of Denmark were all present, and all fashioned in dark suits. The wife of Denmark’s Prime Minister stood out beautifully in red.
The next day, the president paid a visit to King Carl XVI and Queen Silvia before leaving for St. Petersburg from Stockholm-Arlanda airport that morning. After an uneventful flight to St. Petersburg, the president quickly slipped into a limo.
Ben Rhodes, Security Council advisor for communications, made some comments regarding the G-20 summit and Obama’s goals for the meeting with Putin. He pointed to the statement from the Nordic Council which clarified that Obama would “explain our current thinking” to allies, and see what kind of “political and diplomatic support they may express for our efforts to hold Syrian regime accountable.” Rhodes also said that the White House is not considering action that would involve “significant requirements of international participation.”
The first stop in St. Petersburg was at the Constantine Palace, the site of the G-20 Summit, for a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Susan Rice, Rob Nabors and Ben Rhodes sat with the President and Abe began by saying it was “extremely meaningful” for the president to call him to discuss Syria. “I certainly look forward to continuously and closely working with you to improve the situation on the ground,” he said. President Obama noted that jobs and the economy would be primary focuses of the G-20 summit as well, and he congratulated Abe on his “bold steps to boost growth and jobs and demand in Japan.”
Following that meeting, the president went to meet the other officials for the start of the summit. President Obama and Putin had their first interaction, but did not chat for long. Putin gave the opening remarks at the summit and Indonesia’s president and Australia’s foreign minister sat between Obama and Putin. Once dinner-time arrived two hours later, the leaders went to Peterhof, an ornate palace with elegant gardens. The entertainment consisted of a band of chamber musicians, and men and women dressed in elaborate period costumes. Red and white fireworks were set off around after midnight, honoring all the leaders that were in town.
The following day on Friday, the president ventured from the villa where he was staying to the Chinese villa to meet with President Xi. Before discussing G-20 issues, the two leaders talked about the “significant progress” they had made in the relationship between the U.S. and China, and agreed that they had been determined “to build a new model of great power relations.”
The summit then resumed at the Constantine palace, and early in the night, the president went to the Crowne Plaza hotel for the civil society meeting. When the meeting ended, President Obama made a mad dash for home on Air Force One.
Of course, First Lady Michelle Obama was keeping busy while the president was out of town. She visited Orr Elementary School in southeast Washington, D.C. on Friday as a part of her Let’s Move! campaign. Athletes Shaquille O’Neal and Dominique Dawes accompanied her in an exercise routine. The First Lady began by stating the goal of her program: “To ensure that all of our children grow up healthy and have the bright futures we all know they deserve.” In her inspiring speech, she emphasized the importance of healthy, “new lunch standards” and “healthy snacks” as a way of fighting childhood obesity. Before having some fun with the students, she stressed that “the health of our children in my greatest priority,” and promised to stand by the schools as they work to make healthy changes for students.
