LIMA, Peru (AP) - The Latest on President Barack Obama’s final official foreign trip (all times local):
6:10 p.m.
President Barack Obama is dodging a question about whether he intends to fire the director of the National Security Agency, saying only that Adm. Mike Rogers is a “terrific patriot.”
Obama spoke Sunday at a news conference at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru.
Obama was asked about a recommendation from Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper that Rogers be dismissed before the president leaves office.
It’s unclear exactly why they recommended his ouster.
Rogers’ tenure has been tainted by the theft of classified material from the agency and has been mentioned as a candidate for a position in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Rogers met with Trump last week.
Also, Rogers oversees NSA and the U.S. Cyber Command and is in the middle of a debate over whether the two should be split and run by two individuals. Obama wouldn’t say what he plans to do, but acknowledged that his administration has been spending a lot of time deciding how best to organize the U.S. cyber effort.
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6:05 p.m.
President Barack Obama is reaffirming his support for a controversial trade agreement strongly criticized by his successor.
President-elect Donald Trump has called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, trade deal negotiated by the Obama administration a “job killer” and a “disaster” pushed by special interests.
In a news conference Sunday at the closing of an economic summit in Peru, Obama said the United States should not retreat from global trade, but seek to “do trade right” so that workers are protected and environmental standards are upheld.
Obama argued it’s time for the U.S. to reaffirm its support for the TPP trade deal. He said other world leaders at the summit made clear they want to move ahead with the agreement, and without the U.S. it will be a weaker deal. The U.S. would lose an opportunity to shape the rules of global trade “in a way that reflects our values,” Obama said.
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5:45 p.m.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin says he and President-elect Donald Trump share an interest in normalizing relations between the U.S. and Russia.
At a press conference following an economic summit in Peru, Putin said that Trump “reaffirmed his intent to normalize relations with Russia” in their recent phone call, “and I naturally said the same.”
Putin says that there is a big difference between “pre-election rhetoric and actual policy” in most countries, and that it remains to be seen how well the situation will evolve and how successful Trump will be at solving the challenges facing the country.
Putin also commented on his brief discussion with President Barack Obama earlier in the day, saying they both acknowledged dialogue between the U.S. and Russia “was hard.” He says he would be happy to see Obama in Russia.
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4:10 p.m.
President Barack Obama says he has no doubt the close and important relationship between the U.S. and Canada will continue after he leaves office.
Obama is meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during an economic summit in Peru. He says those bonds have been constant throughout Republican and Democratic administrations.
Obama is praising Trudeau for his country’s leadership on climate change, refugees and humanitarian issues.
Trudeau is returning the praise to Obama and says the U.S.-Canada relationship is deep and important. He says he’s invited President-elect Donald Trump to visit Canada soon after Inauguration Day and hopes to welcome him to Canada.
Trump has vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement after taking office.
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2:37 p.m.
President Barack Obama is assuring Australia’s prime minister that the relationship between their two countries “transcends party politics.”
Obama met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Peru, on Sunday.
Turnbull said that it was a “great moment but a sad moment” to be meeting with Obama for the last time. He said he has already spoken with President-elect Donald Trump and shared his views on a number of issues, particularly trade and the fight against the Islamic State group.
Obama assured Turnbull that he would do everything he can to ensure “a strong handoff” and “continuity” in their relationship with the Trump administration.
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1:28 p.m.
Another APEC summit? Another “family” photo of the leaders wearing the host country’s native garb.
President Barack Obama, attending his final summit, joined the revelry with his counterparts, sporting a traditional, camel colored shawl of the kind worn by Peruvian herders in the Andes. The shawls were made of cashmere-like vicuna wool.
Each year, leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit dress up for their group photo.
Obama broke from the tradition when the U.S. hosted the 2011 summit in Hawaii. Hawaiian shirts were handed out, but leaders were told they weren’t obligated to wear them in public.
None did. They all wore business suits for the photo.
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12:10 p.m.
The White House says President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Syria and Ukraine during a four-minute conversation at the start of a summit in Peru.
A White House description of the meeting says after exchanging pleasantries, Obama encouraged Putin to uphold his country’s commitments under the Minsk deal aimed at ending the conflict. Obama emphasized the commitment by the U.S. and its allies to Ukraine’s sovereignty.
The White House says Obama called for Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to keep working in initiatives with other countries to lower violence in Syria and alleviate suffering. A series of diplomatic efforts involving the U.S. and Russia have been unsuccessful at reducing violence in a sustainable way.
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11:20 a.m.
President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are speaking to each other as an economic summit gets under way in Peru.
Obama and Putin were seen chatting as reporters were allowed in briefly for the start of the opening session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima. They stood off to the side together momentarily before shaking hands and then taking their seats around a table.
It was unclear what the two were discussing, and their words weren’t audible to journalists present.
Obama and Putin have long had a strained relationship. President-elect Donald Trump’s election has raised speculation and concern he might do less to challenge Russian aggression.
Obama and Putin aren’t expected to have any formal meetings while both are in Peru.
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11:00 a.m.
President Barack Obama is holding separate meetings with the leaders of Australia and Canada before he wraps up the final foreign trip of his presidency.
He’ll meet Sunday with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in between other sessions with world leaders attending an annual Asia-Pacific summit being held in Lima, Peru.
Obama also planned to take questions from the journalists who accompanied him to Greece, Germany and Peru before he flies back to Washington.
Some of those questions are likely to be about Donald Trump, whose election to succeed Obama overshadowed much of the president’s trip.
Obama sought to reassure concerned leaders that the U.S. will stay true to its commitments despite the election of a president who opposed Obama on practically every issue.
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