Obama: We must test Russia to see if we can cooperate in Syria
At a press conference at the Pentagon, US President Barack Obama said he does not trust Russia to cooperate militarily with the US to bring peace in Syria, but the proposition must be tested.
The US State Department recently announced that it is pursuing military cooperation with Russia to end the war in Syria, a proposal over which some defense officials have expressed concern.
When asked why he trusts Moscow to cooperate, Obama said "I am not confident that we can trust the Russians and Vladimir Putin, which is why we have to test" them.
He added that Russia must show that it is willing to focus its efforts on carrying out strikes against extremist groups such as the so-called Islamic State and al-Nusra Front instead of bombing moderate, US-backed opposition groups.
According to Obama, if this does not happen, "Russia will have shown itself very clearly to be an irresponsible actor on the world stage that is supporting a murderous regime and will have to answer to that on the international stage.”