Obama and Putin cite differences on Syria but say they want violence to end

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/17/18998085-obama-and-putin-cite-differences-on-syria-but-say-they-want-violence-to-end?lite

President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart — on opposite sides of a civil war but using delicate language about a difference of opinion — said Monday that they shared an interest in stopping the bloodshed in Syria.

Obama and President Vladimir Putin met at the Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland, their first time talking face to face in more than a year.

The meeting came days after Obama angered Moscow by authorizing military help for the rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. The two-year conflict has left more than 90,000 people dead. Putin is Assad’s strongest ally.

“Of course our opinions do not coincide,” Putin said through an interpreter after the meeting with Obama. “But all of us have the intention to stop the violence in Syria.”


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