Obama warns Putin on intervening in Syria's civil war
President
Barack Obama warned his Russian counterpart Tuesday against intervening
in Syria's civil war, suggesting that Vladimir Putin is aware of the
dangers his country faces by entering the bloody conflict.
"I
think Mr. Putin understands that ... with Afghanistan fresh in the
memory, for him to simply get bogged down in an inconclusive and
paralyzing civil conflict is not the outcome that he's looking for,"
Obama said at a news conference in Paris.
Obama
said he does not disagree with Putin -- with whom he met on Monday --
on the necessity of a political resolution to Syria's conflict. But he
said there remains discord over the fate of Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, who the United States insists must leave power as part of a
political transition. But he said the reality on the ground in Syria
could change Putin's calculus.
"I think
it is possible over the next several months that we both see a shift in
calculation in the Russians and a recognition that it's time to bring
the civil war in Syria to a close," Obama said. "It's not going to be
easy."
Obama said that he leaves the
major climate change conference -- that united world leaders in one city
-- with confidence in the forward trajectory of his ISIS strategy,
which he said must include new efforts to stamp out financing for the
terror network.
Speaking
at the tail end of his visit to the French capital, Obama said he was
"confident that we can continue building momentum and adding resources
to our effort to degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State
terror network that was responsible for last month's Paris attacks.
Obama
said hosting the climate conference amounted to a "remarkable display
of resolve" for the French. And he compared the battle against ISIS to
global efforts to curb global warming.
"In
some ways it's akin to the problem of terrorism," he said. "In the
immediate aftermath of a terrible attack like happened here in Paris,
sometimes it's natural for people to despair. But look at Paris. You
can't tear down Paris because of the demented actions of a handful of
individuals. The beauty, the joy, the life, the culture, the people, the
diversity. That's going to win out every time."
The
President was one of nearly 150 world leaders gathering outside the
city to agree on carbon reduction targets. He reiterated an urgent
warning that countries move to curb global warning, claiming the
consequences could be drastic.
"If we
let the world keep warming as fast as it is, and sea levels rising as
fast as they are, and weather patterns keep shifting in more unexpected
ways, then before long we are going to have to devote more and more and
more of our economic and military resources not to growing opportunity
for our people but to adapting to the various consequences of a changing
planet," Obama said.
A successful
outcome for the Paris climate talks will include a "legally binding"
mechanism to ensure countries are adhering to their carbon reduction
commitments, Obama said.
The nature of
the Paris accord has been in dispute, since a legally binding pact — if
considered a treaty — would require Congressional approval. A lesser
agreement could potentially be scrapped by the next president.
Obama
downplayed that possibility Tuesday, predicting a Democratic successor
who he said would uphold whatever emerges from the two-week long climate
conference.
"I'm anticipating a
Democrat succeeding me. I'm confident in the wisdom of the American
people on that front," he said. "But even if somebody from a different
party succeeded me, one of the things you find is when you're in this
job, you think about it differently than if you're just running for the
job."
"Everybody
else is taking climate change really seriously," he said. "They think
it's a really big problem. It spans political parties."
During
his news conference, held just before Obama departed Paris for
Washington, Obama renewed his calls for tighter gun laws after last
week's shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic.
Claiming
similar gun sprees don't happen in other countries, Obama said he hoped
the shooting -- which left three dead -- spurs a larger conversation
about access to firearms.
"At the end
of the day, Congress, states, local governments are going to have to act
to ensure we are preventing people who are deranged or have violent
tendencies" from getting high-power weapons, Obama said, adding he
welcomes a debate over abortion rights, calling it a "serious" issue.
But he insisted those with opposing views "talk about it accurately" and not "demonize" Planned Parenthood.
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