Obama is ‘hesitant and
confused’: Syrian deputy FM Meanwhile the decision by President Barack
Obama to take a step back from an imminent
strike on Syria puts all eyes on Vladimir Putin’s
G20 summit where the Russian and US leaders
will push for global support of their divergent
policies. The Kremlin has said that Syria is not on the
official agenda of the summit to be hosted by
Russia in Saint Petersburg on Thursday and
Friday. But with both Moscow and Washington
keen to use it as a platform to discuss a
potential US-led strike against the Syrian regime, the issue is quickly becoming the
elephant in the room. The two-day meeting, to be attended by the
Group of 20 heads of state or government, will
also likely be the last chance for a face-to-face
debate over possible military intervention
before it is voted on in the US Congress, due to
come back from recess on September 9. Obama’s move on Saturday to push back
military action until after a debate and vote by
US lawmakers followed Putin’s call not to take
rash actions, which had some Russian
politicians gloating on Sunday. “Obama was one step away from war,” tweeted
the head of the Russian parliament’s
international affairs committee Alexei
Pushkov. “He does not want to be the second
George Bush with the whole world against him.” Russia has rejected claims that the regime of
Bashar al-Assad has used chemical arms, and
Putin, in his first public reaction to claims that
Assad was behind attacks on August 21, said
the United States must provide proof and avoid
repeating the past “mistakes” of Iraq and other interventions. He called on Obama to use the G20 summit as
a venue to flesh out their differences over
Syria, even though the Kremlin denied earlier
that any bilateral meeting has been planned
between the two leaders. “I would tell my colleague (Obama) that we shall
have a meeting soon in Saint Petersburg,” Putin
said after repeating Russia’s position that the
alleged attack was a “provocation” to draw the
US into the conflict, and that for the Syrian
regime to use chemical weapons would be “utter nonsense.” “Of course the G20… cannot be a replacement
for the UN Security Council, which is the sole
body that can make a decision about using
force. But it’s a good place to discuss the
problem. Why not use the opportunity?,” Putin
said. Obama will also use the delay in taking action
on Syria to build more international support for
the US position at the summit in Russia, a
White House official said late Saturday. Russia has supported Assad, vowing to veto
any action against him in the Security Council,
and Putin on Saturday admitted that he had not
discussed Syria with Obama since the first
accusations against the regime regarding the
chemical attacks were made. But hosting the summit in one of the Kremlin’s
official residence palaces, Putin will have prime
opportunity to argue his case, bolstered by the
war-weary British parliament’s shock rejection
of military action which left France as
America’s main Syria ally.
confused’: Syrian deputy FM Meanwhile the decision by President Barack
Obama to take a step back from an imminent
strike on Syria puts all eyes on Vladimir Putin’s
G20 summit where the Russian and US leaders
will push for global support of their divergent
policies. The Kremlin has said that Syria is not on the
official agenda of the summit to be hosted by
Russia in Saint Petersburg on Thursday and
Friday. But with both Moscow and Washington
keen to use it as a platform to discuss a
potential US-led strike against the Syrian regime, the issue is quickly becoming the
elephant in the room. The two-day meeting, to be attended by the
Group of 20 heads of state or government, will
also likely be the last chance for a face-to-face
debate over possible military intervention
before it is voted on in the US Congress, due to
come back from recess on September 9. Obama’s move on Saturday to push back
military action until after a debate and vote by
US lawmakers followed Putin’s call not to take
rash actions, which had some Russian
politicians gloating on Sunday. “Obama was one step away from war,” tweeted
the head of the Russian parliament’s
international affairs committee Alexei
Pushkov. “He does not want to be the second
George Bush with the whole world against him.” Russia has rejected claims that the regime of
Bashar al-Assad has used chemical arms, and
Putin, in his first public reaction to claims that
Assad was behind attacks on August 21, said
the United States must provide proof and avoid
repeating the past “mistakes” of Iraq and other interventions. He called on Obama to use the G20 summit as
a venue to flesh out their differences over
Syria, even though the Kremlin denied earlier
that any bilateral meeting has been planned
between the two leaders. “I would tell my colleague (Obama) that we shall
have a meeting soon in Saint Petersburg,” Putin
said after repeating Russia’s position that the
alleged attack was a “provocation” to draw the
US into the conflict, and that for the Syrian
regime to use chemical weapons would be “utter nonsense.” “Of course the G20… cannot be a replacement
for the UN Security Council, which is the sole
body that can make a decision about using
force. But it’s a good place to discuss the
problem. Why not use the opportunity?,” Putin
said. Obama will also use the delay in taking action
on Syria to build more international support for
the US position at the summit in Russia, a
White House official said late Saturday. Russia has supported Assad, vowing to veto
any action against him in the Security Council,
and Putin on Saturday admitted that he had not
discussed Syria with Obama since the first
accusations against the regime regarding the
chemical attacks were made. But hosting the summit in one of the Kremlin’s
official residence palaces, Putin will have prime
opportunity to argue his case, bolstered by the
war-weary British parliament’s shock rejection
of military action which left France as
America’s main Syria ally.
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