A Russian advocacy group announced on Tuesday that it put President Vladimir Putin up for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation of Peoples of the World said at a news conference in New York that Putin was significantly more deserving of the coveted prize than President Obama, who received a Nobel in 2009.
"Barack Obama has the title of Nobel Prize winner - the man who initiated and approved such aggressive actions on the part of the United States of America as in Iraq, Afghanistan, some others, and now is preparing for invasion of Syria," Member of Parliament and Russian singer Iosif Kobzon told the New York Times, one of the publications present for the media conference. "I think our president, who is trying to stop the bloodshed, who is trying to help to resolve this conflict situation through a political dialogue, through diplomatic language, deserves this title more."
The organization sent a formal proposal to the Norwegian Nobel Committee detailing their reasons for putting Putin up for the peace prize.
"Being the leader of one of the leading nations of the world, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin makes efforts to maintain peace and tranquility not only on the territory of his own country but also actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet," the group wrote.
Western perceptions of President Putin haven't been pristine, given the United States' past relationship with Russia. According to the New York Times, Putin gave the green light for an all-out attack on Georgia over a small border issue, in addition to heading up a war to end separatism in Chechnya. Russia is also the main ally to President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Moscow's outlook on America isn't much warmer - many Russians see President Obama as a warmonger who won't stop leading the U.S. into military missions abroad.
The recipient of the 2013 Peace Prize will be publicized during the award ceremony in Oslo on Oct. 11.
