Russia and US on Syria, who leads, who follows
- 9 years ago
A terse look on one side, some kind of a smile on the other… the Obama-Putin face-off at the United Nations in New York on Monday was riddled with underlying tension over the United States’ and Russia’s differences, notably on Syria.
It was even hard to pin down who had suggested the meeting.
The White House talked about “a lengthy list of concerns about Russia’s conduct in international hotspots”.
Addressing the General Assembly, Putin’s tone was unapologetic, as if to say: ‘Assad is indispensable, live with it’.
Putin said: “Today, we provide military and technical assistance both to Iraq and Syria. We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian government. We should finally acknowledge that no one but President Assad’s armed forces and Kurdish militia are truly fighting the Islamic State [movement] and other terrorist organisations in Syria.”
Obama appeared open to Assad staying on a little bit longer.
Obama said: “The United States is prepar
It was even hard to pin down who had suggested the meeting.
The White House talked about “a lengthy list of concerns about Russia’s conduct in international hotspots”.
Addressing the General Assembly, Putin’s tone was unapologetic, as if to say: ‘Assad is indispensable, live with it’.
Putin said: “Today, we provide military and technical assistance both to Iraq and Syria. We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian government. We should finally acknowledge that no one but President Assad’s armed forces and Kurdish militia are truly fighting the Islamic State [movement] and other terrorist organisations in Syria.”
Obama appeared open to Assad staying on a little bit longer.
Obama said: “The United States is prepar