The meeting between the two leaders grabbed the headlines and at one point even overshadowed the debate at the 70th session of United Nations General Assembly and there is good reason for that.
Personal relations between the two leaders soured long before the crisis in Ukraine and the emergence of “Islamic state” terrorist grouping, operating in Iraq and Syria. Before their meeting in New York the two leaders had an informal meeting at 2013 G8 summit in Ireland and later the same year President Obama canceled his meeting with President Putin following the snowballing scandal over US whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The meeting between the two leaders, held in New York lasted for more than an hour and despite lack of warmth was seen by them as frank and productive. Shortly after that State Secretary John Kerry in an interview to CNN announced Obama administration no more insists on the immediate departure of President Assad.
In the meantime, as a follow up to Putin-Obama meeting Russian warplanes launched their first airstrikes on the positions of Islamic State in Syria which were endorsed by the Russian parliament decision.
Alexander Domrin, professor at the High School of Economics, who lectured in many American Universities (studio guest); Brian Young, independent expert based in Hong Kong (studio guest); Maxim Suchkov, visiting fellow at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Russia at New York University; Paul Grenier, independent US writer who worked for the Pentagon as a Russian interpreter and Edward Lozansky, President of the American University in Moscow commented on the issue.
