Obama to keep low profile at finance summit

Nov 13, 2008, 15:34 GMT

US President elect Barack Obama (L) arrives with Gulf War veteran Tammy Duckworth (R) to honor America\'s veterans on Veterans Day at the Bronze Soldiers Memorial in Chicago, Illinois, USA 11 November 2008. EPA/TANNEN MAURY / POOL

Washington - US president-elect Barack Obama has turned down the chance to meet with foreign leaders at Saturday's economic summit in Washington, choosing instead to keep a low profile during the emergency gathering.

Obama intends to remain at home in Chicago when 20 foreign leaders meet to outline a plan to stave off a global recession following the autumn meltdown in financial markets.

Obama is busily preparing his move into the White House after winning the November 4 elections. Exit polls showed that voters strongly preferred him to tackle the economic crisis, but the Illinois senator will stay on the sidelines so the United States can speak with one voice under lame-duck President George W Bush.

'It's not appropriate for two people to show up at this meeting,' said John Podesta, who served as chief of staff under former president Bill Clinton and is heading Obama's transition team.

'The president-elect will respect the fact that we have one president at a time. And President Bush will conduct that meeting, and we'll be kept informed.'

The leaders of 20 nations plus the European Union will meet for two days in the conference hosted by Bush, with a dinner set for Friday evening followed by a marathon session on Saturday.

Among them are the world's leading democratic economies, known as the G8 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United States - and emerging economic powers like Brazil, China and India.

Obama has cited the economic crisis as his top priority after his inauguration on January 20, but for now other leaders, including some who were openly enthusiastic over Obama's candidacy, will have to wait for direct talks with the next president.

Some analysts said it could be difficult for Bush to rally world leaders to back an international plan, with barely two months remaining in office and without the clear support of his successor.

'Very little can get done without explicit support from president- elect Obama,' said Benn Steil, director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations.

'If (Bush) expresses support for an initiative that an incoming Obama administration will not support, he can rest assured that he will not get any traction whatsoever.'

Obama's transition team announced Wednesday that former secretary of state Madeleine Albright and former Republican congressman Jim Leach will be in Washington to represent Obama in any meetings requested by foreign leaders, but will not attend the G20 summit.

'The president-elect has asked Secretary Albright and Congressman Leach, an experienced and bipartisan team, to be available (to) meet with and listen to our friends and allies on his behalf,' Obama foreign policy advisor Denis McDonough said.

Obama has already had the opportunity to speak with foreign leaders since the elections. Last week, he returned congratulatory phone calls from the presidents or prime ministers of Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Spain and South Korea.

During the campaign, Obama sought to build his foreign policy credentials with a trip to the Middle East and Europe. He met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki and spoke to a crowd of 200,000 people in Berlin after meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.