--- title: Obama Says U.S. Knew Russia Planned to Intervene in Syria description: Obama said the U.S. knew that Russia intended to intervene in Syria before President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. canonical: https://time.com/4069516/obama-russia-putin-syria-60-minutes/ author: NBC News article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-12T03:00:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:52.445Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Says U.S. Knew Russia Planned to Intervene in Syria og:description: Obama told "60 Minutes" that the U.S. knew of Russia's plan. og:url: https://time.com/4069516/obama-russia-putin-syria-60-minutes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8878291ee6d1d172/698867d8f887dc5a85e92d1f/gettyimages-492216824.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Obama Arrives In Air Force One At LAX og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Says U.S. Knew Russia Planned to Intervene in Syria twitter:description: Obama told "60 Minutes" that the U.S. knew of Russia's plan. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8878291ee6d1d172/698867d8f887dc5a85e92d1f/gettyimages-492216824.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Says U.S. Knew Russian Military Planned to Intervene in Syria > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Know Right Now: Airstrikes Increase Tension Between U.S. and Russia [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: Airstrikes Increase Tension Between U.S. and Russia](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZA6HdMeH.m3u8) (1:01)  _Published 2015-10-01. Tension between the U.S. and Russia escalated after Russia began airstrikes in Syria_ by [M. Alex Johnson / NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## M. Alex Johnson / NBC News Oct 12, 2015 3:00 AM UTC  President Barack Obama arrives in Air Force One at LAX Airport on October 10, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. President Barack Obama arrives in Air Force One at LAX Airport on October 10, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Michael Kovac—WireImage/Getty Images by [M. Alex Johnson / NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## M. Alex Johnson / NBC News Oct 12, 2015 3:00 AM UTC The United States had “pretty good intelligence” that Russia intended to intervene militarily in Syria before President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday. Critics have accused Obama of having ceded American leadership to Putin by having failed to prevent Russia from [launching airstrikes there on Sept. 30](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/russia-begins-surgical-strikes-targeting-isis-syria-n436106). Russia says the airstrikes are part of a campaign to wipe out ISIS, but U.S. officials have accused Putin of using them to prop up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom the United States is seeking to oust. Some critics, including several Republican presidential candidates… [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/obama-says-u-s-knew-russian-military-planned-intervene-syria-n442596?cid=par-time-article%5F20151012) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4069516/obama-russia-putin-syria-60-minutes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4069516/obama-russia-putin-syria-60-minutes/"},"headline":"Obama Says U.S. Knew Russian Military Planned to Intervene in Syria","datePublished":"2015-10-12T03:00:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:04:52.445Z","description":"In an interview with '60 Minutes' Obama said he knew that Putin was planning to provide the military assistance that Assad needed","url":"https://time.com/4069516/obama-russia-putin-syria-60-minutes/","keywords":["intelligence","russia","politics","Syria","Obama","President Vladimir Putin"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8878291ee6d1d172/698867d8f887dc5a85e92d1f/gettyimages-492216824.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"M. 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