Putin rebukes Obama for stance on Syria

WASHINGTON

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday criticized President Barack Obama's vision for Syria’s future that demands Bashar al-Assad must not be allowed to hold power.

"We think it is an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian government and its armed forces, who are valiantly fighting terrorism face-to -face," Putin told delegates at the opening session of the UN 70th General Assembly.

The Russian leader's remarks which clearly clashed with Obama's call for a transition in Syria with new leadership without Assad, came hours before the two leaders were scheduled to meet later Monday.

"We should finally acknowledge that no one but President Assad's armed forces and Kurdish militia are truly fighting the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations in Syria," Putin added, referring to the Daesh militant group.

Russia has supported the Assad regime since the beginning of the conflict in 2011, and recently deployed arms and troops in the war-torn country to conduct a campaign against Daesh, in cooperation with Iran, Iraq and Assad regime, according to Putin.

"We propose discussing whether it is possible to agree on a resolution aimed at coordinating the actions of all the forces that confront the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations," he added.

Without specifically mentioning the U.S., Putin accused Washington of enforcing its will on the UN and suggested that a change was needed at the world body.

"After the end of the Cold War, the single center 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."

He also claimed that the UN in its original form has "become obsolete and completed its historical mission."

"The world is changing and the UN must be consistent with this natural transformation,” the Russian leader said.

He also slammed what he sees as NATO’s expansion policies, saying those objectives played a role in the conflict in Ukraine.

“NATO continues expanding, as well as its military infrastructure,” he said. "They offered the poor Soviet countries a false choice: either to be with the West or with the East. Sooner or later, this logic of confrontation was bound to stark off a grave geopolitical crisis. This is exactly what happened in Ukraine," he said.

In a direct rebuke to Obama who said earlier Monday that Russia infringed on Ukraine’s sovereignty, Putin responded by saying sovereignty is the freedom of people and nations to decide about their future.

And, he said the U.S.’s unilateral sanctions on Russia that circumvented the UN "serve as a means of eliminating competitors."

He also accused Obama of playing with international law to criticize Russia.