U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in St. Petersburg Thursday to attend the G20 summit.
Obama will hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Francois Hollande.
China warned on Thursday that military intervention in Syria would hurt the world economy and push up oil prices, reinforcing Vladimir Putin's attempts to talk Obama out of air strikes.
The rift over Syria could overshadow the summit during which global leaders want to forge a united front on growth, trade, banking transparency and fighting tax evasion.
There are no plans for a formal bilateral meeting between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
