Syrian crisis forcing a New York meeting between Obama and Putin

The Washington Post: President Obama has not met one-on-one with President Vladimir Putin for more than 15 months but agreed Thursday to sit down with the Russian leader in New York on Monday as part of a broader effort to resolve the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine.

The session, which will take place on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week, acknowledges Putin’s considerable influence on the world stage, despite a lengthy effort by the administration to punish Russia, diplomatically and economically, for its annexation of Crimea last year and for its support of the forces that have seized portions of Ukraine.

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