Obama and Putin Speak at The UN

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin gave sharply different visions for achieving a resolution of the Syrian conflict during their respective speeches at the UN General Assembly on Monday. Obama urged the removal of President Bashar Assad as part of a “managed transition” which he said he was ready to cooperate with Russia and Iran to effectuate.  However, Putin declared that the only way forward was to support the regime as it battles the Islamic State (IS) terror militia. The two leaders held a closed-door meeting later in the day, with the multiple crises on the Middle East and particularly Russian military deployment to Syria, expected to be high on the list of topics discussed.