Syrian stare-down: Obama’s icy toast with Putin embodies clash over fate of Syrian leader Assad
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have sharply disagreed at the United Nations over the chaos in Syria, with Obama urging a political transition to replace the Syrian president but Putin warning it would be a mistake to abandon the current government.
After dueling speeches at the United Nations General Assembly, Obama and Putin also met privately for 90 minutes — their first face-to-face encounter in nearly a year. The pair also shared a champagne toast, Obama stony-faced, at a luncheon hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
At the heart of their dispute over Syria is the fate of embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, a Russian ally. The US has long called for Assad to leave power, while Russia has cast the Syrian government as the only viable option for confronting the Islamic State, a militant group that has taken advantage of the vacuum created by the civil war.
Putin, speaking to the UN General Assembly shortly after the US president, urged the world to stick with Assad.
“We believe it’s a huge mistake to refuse to co-operate with the Syrian authorities, with the government forces, those who are bravely fighting terror face-to-face,” Putin said during his first appearance at the UN gathering in a decade.
During his earlier address to the UN, Obama declared: “We must recognise that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the prewar status quo.”
Obama and Putin’s disparate views of the grim situation in Syria left little indication of how the two countries might work together to end a conflict that has killed more than 250,000 people and resulted in a flood of refugees. Indeed, the leaders’ private meetings ended with vague statements about the need for a political resolution to the crisis, but no clear pathway for making that happen.
The crisis has taken on fresh urgency amid Russia’s recent military buildup in Syria. Putin has cast the increased presence of equipment and troops in Syria as part of the effort to defeat the Islamic State, and suggested Monday that Russia could launch airstrikes against the militants.
“We are thinking about it and don’t exclude anything,” he said.
It’s unlikely Putin would join the US-led coalition already launching strikes against the militants. He said Russia will only take such a step in accordance with international law, and criticised the US and its allies for striking the Syrian territory without U.N. permission.
Despite Obama’s staunch opposition to Assad remaining in office, the US has struggled to push him from power. Russia has long been a major obstacle, shielding Assad from UN sanctions and continuing to provide the Syrian government with weapons.
In fact, Russia has appeared to deepen its support for Assad in recent weeks, sending additional military equipment and troops with the justification that it is helping the government fight the Islamic State. The military buildup has confounded US officials, who spent the summer hoping Russia’s patience with Assad was waning and political negotiations could be started.
Obama and Putin each framed his case for Syria’s future in the context of a broader approach to the world, launching veiled criticisms at each other.
The US president condemned nations that believe “might makes right”, and sought instead to highlight the benefits of diplomacy. He touted his administration’s efforts to restore ties with Cuba after a half-century freeze and the completion of a nuclear accord with Iran, noting that Russia was a key partner in negotiating the Iran deal.
Putin, without naming the United States, accused Washington of trying to enforce its will on others and mulling a possible reform of the UN, which he suggested stands in the way of the perceived US domination.
“After the end of the Cold War, the single centre of domination has emerged in the world,” Putin said. “Those who have found themselves on top of that pyramid were tempted to think that since they are so strong and singular, they know what to do better than others and it’s unnecessary to pay any attention to the UN.”
Obama and Putin briefly shook hands during the leaders’ lunch that followed the morning of speeches. Seated at the same table, they clinked glasses during their toast, with Putin smiling and Obama grim-faced.
