Putin Says Still at Odds with Obama after Bilateral Syria Talks, U.S. Leader Says Convincing Congress will be Tough
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said he held talks on Syria with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 summit but confirmed the meeting did not end their differences on the conflict, as the American leader said he knew convincing the U.S. Congress to back military action against Damascus would be a "heavy lift."
"We spoke sitting down... it was a constructive, meaningful, cordial conversation. Each of us kept with our own opinion," Putin told reporters, saying the meeting lasted 20 to 30 minutes.
"There is dialogue, we hear each other and understand the arguments," Putin said. "He (Obama) disagrees with my arguments, I disagree with his arguments, but we do hear, and we try to analyze," he said.
The Russian leader said he agreed with Obama that a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry must be held as soon as possible.
His chief foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov also confirmed that the "contradictions remained" after the talks.
Putin said that a majority of countries at the G20 appeared to be supporting his position.
"You said views divided 50-50, that is not quite right," Putin said in answer to a journalist's question, listing only the United States, Turkey, Canada, Saudi Arabia and France as countries supporting an intervention.
He said German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained "careful" and that while the British Prime Minister David Cameron supports the strike, he does not represent the "will of the people" as parliament rejected intervention.
Meanwhile, China, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Italy were "against military action," he said.
Even in the countries supporting the strikes, "the majority of the population is on our side," opposing them, he added.
"Using force against a sovereign state can only be done in self defense, and Syria is not attacking the United States," said Putin, adding such action could only be approved by the U.N. Security Council.
"As one participant said yesterday, those who do something different are placing themselves outside the law," he added.
Meanwhile, Obama on Friday acknowledged that he knew convincing the U.S. Congress to back military action against the Syrian regime would be a "heavy lift."
"I knew this was going to be a heavy lift," he told reporters at the end of the G20 summit in Russia. "I understand the skepticism," he added.
Obama stressed that the world cannot "stand idly" by on Syria and announced he would address the American people on Tuesday, describing his talks with Putin in Saint Petersburg as "as candid and constructive."
The U.S. president said tough decisions must be taken and that the U.N. Security Council must not be a hurdle in the way of enforcing international norms.
Obama added that he needs to convince the nation that his plans would be "limited and proportional" and designed to uphold international norms.
"I trust my constituents want me to offer my best judgment. That's why they elected me. That's why they re-elected me," he added.
With Congress showing signs of reluctance to back a resolution authorizing military strikes, Obama refused to say whether he would act if he fails to win that approval.
"It would be a mistake for me to jump the gun and speculate because right now I'm working to get as much support as possible out of Congress," he said.
Obama told reporters that he and other leaders had had a "full airing of views on the issue." He said many foreign nations will be issuing statements on their positions, but he didn't say whether any specifically had joined France in supporting his move toward U.S. military strikes.
He said the leaders are unanimous in believing that chemical weapons were used in Syria and that international norms against that use must be maintained. He said division comes over how to proceed through the United Nations.
Obama added that he agreed with Putin that the conflict can only be resolved through a political transition, saying he thinks it is important that he and Putin work together to urge all sides in the conflict to try to resolve it.
The meeting came Friday as Obama sought to build international backing for military action. But three days after he left Washington, it's unclear whether the global coalition the president has been seeking is any closer to becoming a reality.
Putting up stiff resistance to Obama's appeals, Russia on Friday warned the United States and its allies against striking any chemical weapon storage facilities in Syria. The Russian foreign ministry said such targeting could release toxic chemicals and give militants or terrorists access to chemical weapons.
Obama earlier on Friday said the United States valued France's support for military action against Assad's regime.
"I value very much President Hollande's commitment to a strong international response for these grievous acts," he said, adding that "any action that we contemplate... would be limited and would be focused on deterring the use of chemical weapons in the future and degrade the Assad regime's capacity to use chemical weapons."
Later on Friday, Hollande said he will wait for the U.N. inspectors' report on their investigation of the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria.
That means even further delay in potential international armed action against Assad's military. France and the United States are preparing possible strikes, saying they have convincing evidence that Assad's regime launched the Aug. 21 attack.
France, which firmly backs the Syrian rebels and has strategic and historic interest in the region, had been ready to act last week but held off when Obama declared he would consult Congress first.
Hollande told reporters at the Group of 20 summit on Friday: "Yes, we will wait for the inspectors' report, as we will wait for the Congress vote."
It was the first time Hollande said he would wait for the U.N. report.
A French diplomatic official noted that his announcement came after discussions at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other world leaders, suggesting that those discussions persuaded Hollande to wait. The official was not authorized to be publicly named according to presidential policy.
Hollande's announcement appeared to catch French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius off guard. Earlier Friday, he told EU foreign ministers meeting in Lithuania that there was no need to await the U.N. report because it would simply confirm what was already known — that the chemical weapons attack had occurred — but would not say who was responsible.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse, Associated Press
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