Putin disputes Obama on Syria:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has challenged the US to present to the UN evidence that Syria attacked rebels with chemical weapons near Damascus.
Mr Putin said it would be "utter nonsense" for Syria's government to provoke opponents with such attacks.
...
Speaking to journalists in the Russian far-eastern city of Vladivostok, Mr Putin urged Mr Obama - as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - to think about future victims in Syria before using force.
He said it was ridiculous to suggest the Syrian government was to blame for the attack, calling it a "provocation by those who want to drag other countries into the Syrian conflict".
"Syrian government troops are on the offensive and have surrounded the opposition in several regions," he said.
"In these conditions, to give a trump card to those who are calling for a military intervention is utter nonsense."
He said that the US failure to present evidence to the international community was "simply disrespectful".
"If there is evidence it should be shown. If it is not shown, then there isn't any," he said.
I assume Putin deplores these distractions.
FWIW: Their tough guy is tougher than our tough guy but we are still the US and Putin still leads the down-sized right-sized former USSR. So we've got that going for us.
apparently first
Posted by: peter | August 31, 2013 at 06:23 PM
Reset.
Putin needs to be punched in the nose.
Obama simply could never ever be counted to do it metaphorically or otherwise.
Oh, but he called him the bored kid in the back of the classroom. Not exactly a punch in the nose. More like sticking his tongue out at him.
Smart Power.
Posted by: Jeff Dobbs | August 31, 2013 at 06:26 PM
I hope this week's meeting is televised.
Posted by: Jane-sun - the squaw | August 31, 2013 at 06:33 PM
Now I'm worried about myself again. Like Putin (nearly made a Spanish error again), I also wondered why the hell, when it was winning the war, the Syrian government would call Obama's bluff about gas.
Maybe Snowden tipped Syria that Obama was a pussy.
Posted by: MarkO on vacation at an undisclosed location | August 31, 2013 at 07:48 PM
" More like sticking his tongue out at him."
Does the Geneva Convention allow that?
Posted by: pagar----- | August 31, 2013 at 07:52 PM
pagar:
Does the Geneva Convention allow that?
Actually, Obama was ok if he had just left it at sticking his tongue out. It's when he started twerking across the international stage that things got out of hand.
Posted by: Jeff Dobbs | August 31, 2013 at 07:56 PM
"Flexible" just ain't what it used to be.
Posted by: Threadkiller | August 31, 2013 at 08:35 PM
Trouble is, it is hard to tell if Assad, Putin and Obama are on the same side together, or not.
I don't trust any of them, especially since all
three of them and the MB are Marxist/Socialists.
Posted by: Nick N.Y. | September 01, 2013 at 07:00 AM