Obama prepares for critical week at UN, meeting with Putin

The chief executive is fresh off a series of successes

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Fresh from successes on Iran and with the pope, President Barack Obama still carried heavy burdens into critical meetings this week at the U.N. General Assembly.

They include the threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, as well as the Syrian civil war and the ensuing refugee crisis, and Russia’s moves in Ukraine and in Syria.

Obama arrived late Sunday morning for three days in New York, and perhaps the most anticipated moment was to come Monday evening — a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders.

It will be their first face-to-face meeting in nearly a year. Both leaders also were to address the opening of the assembly’s annual ministerial meeting on Monday.

The U.S. and Russia have quibbled over who requested the meeting and what the focus will be. Putin wants to talk about Syria; Obama wants to concentrate on Ukraine.

Despite administration efforts to turn Putin into an international pariah after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014, Obama believes not engaging with the Russian leader “would be wrong” given the pressing issues in Ukraine and Syria, Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said.