Obama offers some praise of Putin

By Eliza Collins

Obama pleasantly surprised by Russian leader’s assistance in clinching historic deal with Iran.

U.S. President Barack Obama had some kind words for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Really.
As the U.S. and Russia remained locked in a tense stand-off over Putin’s grab for Ukraine, Obama said he was pleasantly surprised by the foreign leader’s assistance in clinching a historic deal with Iran over its nuclear program.

“Russia was a help on this. I’ll be honest with you. I was not sure given the strong differences we are having with Russia right now around Ukraine, whether this would sustain itself,” Obama said in an interview with New York Times Op-Ed columnist Thomas L. Friedman on Tuesday. “Putin and the Russian government compartmentalized on this in a way that surprised me, and we would have not achieved this agreement had it not been for Russia’s willingness to stick with us and the other P5-plus members in insisting on a strong deal.”
Obama also said he was encouraged that Putin recently initiated a call to him about Syria, which has long enjoyed support from Russia as it continues to slog through a full-blown civil war.
“I think they get a sense that the Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory inside of Syria,” Obama said. “That offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”