Russian President Vladimir Putin said his meeting Monday with President Obama included conversation that was "very constructive, businesslike, and very frank."
"We had some points in common, and we had differences," he told Russian state media. "I think there is still a way we can work together on the problems we all face." Earlier in the day at the United Nations, Obama and French President Francois Hollande both called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside, a notion Putin, an ally of Assad, did not agree with. "I respect my colleagues, the U.S. president and the French president, but I don't think they are Syrian citizens, so I don't think they should be deciding on who should lead Syria," he said. "There can be simultaneous, political change, but President Assad has already said he agrees with that."
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