HAMBURG -- The Latest on the Group of 20 summit in Germany (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron is stressing the need for commitments to fight global warming as the Group of 20 holds its first summit since U.S. President Donald Trump announced he plans to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.
Macron said on the sidelines of the G20 summit Friday that he and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would discuss "the common engagement which we must take, we must defend, at a moment when it is called in question by certain people."
Trudeau says he and Macron would discuss "our firm commitment to Paris" and "collective leadership" to counter climate change.
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4:15 p.m.
Germany's justice minister has condemned violent clashes at the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg that have injured 160 police officers and led to the detention of more than 40 protesters.
Justice Minister Heiko Maas told the daily Bild on Friday that the violent protests were a disservice to the big crowd of overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators.
Maas said, "Every peaceful protest is welcome. But that is no free pass for unrestrained rampage."
The minister added that, "these extremist criminals don't belong in the streets, but into court. Whoever torches cars and injures police officers does not deserve any kind of tolerance."
Anti-globalization protesters have set cars ablaze and tried to block entry to the summit grounds. It is not clear how many activists have been injured in the clashes.
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4:00 p.m.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin is calling for a careful and pragmatic approach in tackling tensions over North Korea.
Speaking Friday at the start of his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Putin emphasized the need for a level-headed approach.
He noted that while the problem linked with Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs is "very acute," it's "important not to lose self-control and act in a pragmatic, very accurate way."
The South Korean president emphasized that "the North Korean missile provocation has become a threat to the entire region."
Moon added that he was pinning great hopes on Putin to persuade Pyongyang to enter a dialogue.
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3:35 p.m.
U.S. President Donald Trump was on the far left at the Group of 20 summit -- in the leaders' group photo, that is.
Trump's position as an outlier was merely a matter of protocol. Pride of place goes to the so-called G20 troika, consisting of current host German Chancellor Angela Merkel flanked by the host of the next meeting, Argentina's Mauricio Macri, and the host of the last one, China's Xi Jinping.
Trump wound up out on the wing between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and French President Emmanuel Macron, who has even less seniority than Trump does after being elected in May.
1:35 p.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Group of 20 leaders that millions of people are hoping that they can help solve the world's problems.
Merkel said Friday she's sure that every leader will make an effort to achieve "good results."
But she added that "solutions can only be found if we are ready to compromise." All the same, Merkel said that leaders also should name their differences. Merkel was speaking at the start of a working lunch at which leaders will discuss global growth and trade.
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1:10 p.m.
The pope is urging leaders of the Group of 20 nations to make the poor and refugees a priority of their summit.
Pope Francis said that "in the hearts and minds of leaders and in every phase of taking political measures, it is necessary to give absolute priority to the poor, refugees, those suffering, the displaced, those excluded, without national, racial, religious or cultural distinction."
The pope also urged leaders to reject armed conflict, urging an end to "useless massacres." The goal of the G-20, the pope noted, "is to peacefully resolve economic differences."
Francis said that the leaders should "move to deep reflection" on the fact that the summit brings together 20 nations that represent 90 per cent of the production of goods and services in the world, while those who suffer the most are less represented on the world stage.
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12:12 p.m.
U.S. President Donald Trump was spotted chatting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Theresa May as he sat down with fellow world leaders for a discussion on fighting terrorism at a German summit.
Merkel and Trump sat next to each other and exchanged pleasantries at the opening session of the Group of 20 leaders' summit Friday.
Trump also chatted with May, who was seated immediately to his left. Russian leader Vladimir Putin sat several seats away.
Trump has alienated some U.S. allies with his decision to pull the U.S. out of an international climate agreement and his tough talk on trade.
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11:45 a.m.
The spokesman for Russian leader Vladimir Putin is shrugging off President Donald Trump's call to reduce Russia's dominance of the natural gas supply for Eastern Europe.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells reporters, "There's no energy monopoly in Europe" ahead of the planned meeting of the Russian and U.S. leaders in Hamburg, Germany.
Trump said in a speech in Poland Thursday that he wants to make sure Poland and its neighbours are "never again held hostage" to a single supplier of energy.
Peskov says: "All this will be decided by the market, it should not be decided politically."
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11:35 a.m.
The Kremlin says that President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump have exchanged a handshake and a few words ahead of their sit-down at the G-20 summit.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin and Trump "shook hands and told each other that they will shortly have a separate meeting."
Asked about Trump's tweet that he's looking forward to meeting with Putin and they have "much to discuss," Peskov answered that the Russian president is also looking forward to the encounter.
The long-anticipated Putin-Trump meeting will be closely watched to see whether Trump brings up Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The two presidents are expected to focus on the Syrian war, the Ukrainian crisis and the fight against terrorism.
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10:40 a.m.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is welcoming U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders of the Group of 20 global economic powers to a two-day summit in Hamburg.
The meeting at the city's trade fair centre opens Friday with a discussion on fighting terrorism - one of the least contentious subjects on an agenda that also includes global trade and climate.
The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, France, Britain, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Saudi Arabia's King Salman isn't attending, and his country is represented by Ibrahim al-Assaf, the minister of state.
Also attending the summit are the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Guinea, Senegal, Singapore and Vietnam.
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9:45 a.m.
Hamburg police say they have used a water cannon to clear a blockade by protesters ahead of the opening of the Group of 20 summit.
Police said the incident happened on the banks of the Outer Alster lake, some distance from the trade fair grounds where the summit is being held, on Friday morning. They said they had repeatedly told a group of protesters to clear the road.
Officers repeatedly used water cannons, as well as pepper spray and batons, on Thursday evening amid clashes with violent protesters.
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9 a.m.
The Group of 20 summit is getting underway in Hamburg, with terrorism, global trade and climate change among the issues on the agenda as leaders gather under tight security.
The host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, says she hopes to find "compromises and answers" on a range of issues at the two-day meeting of leading economic powers opening Friday. While there's little disagreement on fighting terrorism, prospects of finding common ground on climate change and trade look uncertain.
The meeting opens after skirmishes Thursday evening between police and violent protesters elsewhere in the port city, Germany's second-biggest. Police said that at least 76 officers were hurt, one of whom had to be taken to a hospital with an eye injury after a firework exploded in front of him.
