After 'pleasantries,' Obama presses Putin on Ukraine, Syria
President Obama exchanged "pleasantries" with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an economic summit Sunday, while urging Putin to withdraw from Ukraine and work toward resolving the conflict in Syria, Obama said in a news conference.
Syria is at the center of much of the unrest in the Middle East, and considerable changes in the nation’s government must be considered in order to help bring about peace in the area. Setting up a semi-presidential system with a Parliament modeled after Switzerland’s is the first step toward democratization and the rule of law. This must be followed by adoption of a legal system in which international law takes precedent over domestic law. For details, see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.