“When I came into office Ukraine was governed by a corrupt ruler who was a stooge of Mr. Putin,” Obama said.
In addition, the U.S. President believes Russia’s actions in Syria are a sign of weakness.
“Syria was Russia’s only ally in the region. And today, rather than being able to count on their support and maintain the base they had in Syria, which they’ve had for a long time, Mr. Putin now is devoting his own troops, his own military, just to barely hold together by a thread his sole ally,” said Obama.
Read alsoPentagon: Russia may suffer casualties in Syria in coming daysResponding to a host’s comment claiming that Putin is challenging the U.S. leadership, Obama said: “If you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in, in order to prop up your only ally is leadership, then we've got a different definition of leadership.”
