Although Russian President Vladimir Putin warned President Barack Obama and Western countries against a strike on Syria, he said on Wednesday that he is open to compromise with the U.S. and their allies concerning the ongoing crisis, Reuters reported.
"President Obama hasn't been elected by the American people in order to be pleasant to Russia," Putin said. "And your humble servant hasn't been elected by the people of Russia to be pleasant to someone either. We work, we argue about some issues. We are human. Sometimes one of us gets vexed. But I would like to repeat once again that global mutual interests form a good basis for finding a joint solution to our problems."
Putin has emphasized his disapproval for a strike on Syria without the support of the United Nations.
"Only the United Nations Security Council can sanction the use of force against a sovereign state. Any other approaches, means, to justify the use of force against an independent and sovereign state, are inadmissible," Putin said in an interview.
He also said that if the use of chemical weapons from Assad's regime, which he referred to as a "ludicrous" assertion, can be proved, he would not exclude supporting a strike on the country.
" ... Putin said Moscow has provided some components of the S-300 air defense missile system to Syria but has frozen further shipments. He suggested that Russia may sell the potent missile systems elsewhere if Western nations attack Syria without U.N. Security Council backing," The Associated Press reported.
"If there are data that the chemical weapons have been used, and used specifically by the regular army, this evidence should be submitted to the U.N. Security Council," added Putin. "And it ought to be convincing. It shouldn't be based on some rumors and information obtained by special services through some kind of eavesdropping, some conversations and things like that."
Putin also regrets Obama's cancellation of a meeting between the two leaders that was scheduled to happen earlier this summer and hopes they can have a productive discussion about Syria at the G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg, according to The Associated Press.
