US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin were to meet yesterday for the first time in nearly a year, amid rising tensions over Moscow’s military engagement in Syria, as well as the crisis in Ukraine.
Underscoring their deep differences, the US and Russia could not even agree on the purpose of the meeting, which was to occur on the sidelines of an annual UN summit. The White House said it would focus on Ukraine and getting Moscow to live up to a fragile peace plan. The Kremlin said Ukraine would be discussed only if time allowed, with Syria and the fight against the Islamic State group dominating the discussions.
Despite little sign of a breakthrough on either front, US officials insisted it was still worthwhile for the leaders to meet — something that has happened rarely since Obama vowed to isolate Putin in retaliation for Russia’s provocations in Ukraine.
“The president believed it would be irresponsible to let this occasion in which the two leaders would be in the same city pass without trying to test to see whether progress could be made on these newly intractable crises,” US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said on Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
Ahead of their early evening meeting, Obama and Putin were each to have a chance to make their case to a broader audience of world leaders gathered in New York for the UN General Assembly. Obama was to address the body yesterday morning, with Putin following shortly after.
Obama was expected to emphasize the need for a political resolution to Syria’s civil war that includes the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a Russian ally. Putin was expected to argue that al-Assad’s military is the most capable force for fighting the Islamic State — formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — and therefore needs to be strengthened.
“There is no other solution to the Syrian crisis than strengthening the effective government structures and rendering them help in fighting terrorism,” Putin said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, which aired on the eve of his meeting with Obama.
Ahead of his UN visit, Putin deployed more weapons and troops to Syria. The Kremlin has also intensified its diplomatic efforts in recent months, launching a dialogue with Saudi Arabia, which is firmly bent on unseating al-Assad, and the Syrian opposition, in a renewed attempt to try to negotiate a political compromise.
In another development, Iraq’s military said on Sunday it would begin sharing “security and intelligence” information with Syria, Russia and Iran to help combat the Islamic State group. The move could further complicate US efforts to battle the extremists without working with Damascus and its allies.
Russia has shown no indication that it would dump its support for al-Assad, whom it has shielded from UN sanctions and continued to provide with weapons throughout the nation’s more than four-year civil war.
Putin’s calls for strengthening al-Assad’s military come amid striking troubles for Obama’s plan to train and arm moderate rebels to fight the Islamic State in Syria. A US$500 million Pentagon training program has resulted in just a handful of fighters to bolster airstrikes from a US-led coalition.
The US has agreed to talk with Russia about “deconflicting” their military action in Syria. US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has spoken to his Russian counterpart about Syria earlier this month, the first military-to-military conversation in more than a year.
It will be hard for Moscow and Washington to reach any common ground on Syria beyond the military talks. Putin clearly has no intention of joining the US-led coalition in Syria, which would mean accepting US orders, and Washington has voiced concern that Russia is using its military presence in Syria to shore up al-Assad, whom it sees as the cause of the Syrian crisis.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS