--- description: The pair propose conflicting strategies for Assad title: United Nations General Assembly: Obama, Putin Debate Syria image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaddab3981ce230e6/698865e45f570f502db1d9b0/putin-obama-united-nations.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Military](/tag/military/) ## Military Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama Debate Syria’s Fate At United Nations by [Mark Thompson](/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 28, 2015 6:36 PM CUT  President Barack Obama extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 28, 2015. President Barack Obama extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 28, 2015.Kevin Lamarque—Reuters by [Mark Thompson](/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 28, 2015 6:36 PM CUT Syrian dictator Bashar Assad became a rope in a tug-of-war Monday between President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as the two leaders debated his fate following a four-year civil war that has killed more than 200,000 and sent 4 million Syrians fleeing their country. “We think it’s an enormous mistake to refuse to cooperate with the Syrian government and its armed forces who are valiantly fighting terrorism face to face,” Putin told the UN General Assembly in New York. Obama, speaking shortly before Putin, warned that the international community shouldn’t let political leaders use violence to hang on to power. “In accordance with this logic, we should support tyrants like Bashar al-Assad who drops barrel bombs to massacre innocent civilians because the alternative is surely worse,” he said. Their dueling speeches come as Moscow’s presence in the region is growing. After the U.S. military pulled out of Iraq in 2011, the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria seized the moment to expand inside both nations. In response, the U.S. doubled down by doing little—and now Russia is doubling down by doing a lot, including dispatching warplanes and tanks to Syria. “Today, we provide military and technical assistance both to Iraq and Syria and many other countries of the region who are fighting terrorist groups,” Putin told the UN gathering. With the U.S. and its allies exhausted by 14 years of war in the region, Russia can accomplish a lot with relatively little effort. First, its military moves shore up the embattled government of Assad, a long-time Moscow ally. Second, it cements Russia’s hold on its air base south of Latakia and its naval base at Tartus, its only Mediterranean port. Finally, an anti-ISIS intelligence-sharing pact announced Sunday among Russia, Syria, Iran and Iraq makes clear Moscow’s growing clout in the region. “Russia’s recent military escalation in Syria is a further reminder that when the US does not take the initiative, others will fill the vacuum,” David Petraeus, ex-CIA chief and former Army general, told Congress last week. Putin said his government supports Assad against the militants trying to overthrow him—militants he believes were unleashed by the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003\. While he didn’t mention the U.S. by name, Putin blamed it for the Middle East’s current woes. He referred to “a single center of domination” following the Cold War that tried “to push for changes within other countries based on ideological preferences.” Such an attitude, Putin said, “has resulted in a brazen destruction of national institutions and the lifestyle itself.”  Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on Monday Reuters / Mike Segar Putin spoke to the General Assembly for the first time in a decade as U.S. policy in the region struggles: the push to train moderate rebels has failed and ISIS continues to hold major cities in both countries despite daily U.S.-led air strikes. U.S. officials say they were surprised by the announcement of the anti-ISIS intelligence pact. Obama told the UN that the U.S. “is prepared to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to resolve the conflict. We must recognize that there cannot be, after so much bloodshed, so much carnage, a return to the prewar status quo”—a clear reference to Assad remaining in power. But Putin’s increased presence in Syria has put Obama in a pincer: if Obama wants to keep U.S. troops out of the fight, he cedes ground to Putin. And ceding ground to Putin tightens Assad’s grip on power. Putin’s gambit exploits the American leeriness over Assad’s fate. The U.S. has focused only on defeating ISIS, and has forced the rebels it is training to forego any efforts to oust Assad. But Putin has dispatched dozens of warplanes and helicopter gunships outfitted with ground-attack missiles, saying they are needed to defend additional bases Russia might set up elsewhere in Syria. But bullets are fungible—they also can be used to kill any serious threat to Assad’s hold on power. This isn’t the first time Russia has snatched the initiative from the U.S. when it comes to Syria. Obama warned of air strikes against Assad’s forces in 2013 if he used chemical weapons to hold on to power. Assad ignored Obama’s self-declared “red line” and killed nearly 1,000 with them. Obama blinked, and embraced a Russian offer to work with Syria on getting rid of the chemical weapons, instead of following through on his threatened military action. ### Meet the Kurdish Women Taking the Battle to ISIS  18-year-old YPJ (Women's Protection Unit) fighter Torin Khairegi: “We live in a world where women are dominated by men. We are here to take control of our future. I injured an ISIS jihadi in Kobani. When he was wounded, all his friends left him behind and ran away. Later I went there and buried his body. I now feel that I am very powerful and can defend my home, my friends, my country, and myself. Many of us have been martyred and I see no path other than the continuation of their path." Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  YPJ fighters on their base at the border between Syria and Iraq. Young female fighters are indoctrinated to the ideology of their charismatic leader, Abdullah Ocalan, head of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), who promotes marxist thought and empowerment of women. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  18 year-old YPJ fighter Saria Zilan from Amuda, Syria: "I fought ISIS in Serikani. I captured one of them and wanted to kill him, but my comrades did not let me. He kept staring at the ground and would not look at me, because he said it was forbidden by his religion to look at a woman." Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  20-year old YPJ fighter Aijan Denis from Amuda, Syria: "Where I am now, men and women are equal and we all have the same thought, which is fighting for our ideology and the rights of women. My three sisters and I are all in YPJ." Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  YPJ members take part in daily combat training at their base in Serikani. Syria. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  Three YPJ fighters sit in an armed vehicle at their base in eastern Syria, days after returning from the front. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  YPJ members, including one who was wounded fighting against ISIS in Kobani, Syria, at the all-women Asayesh Security Base in Derek, Syria. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  16 year-old YPJ fighter Barkhodan Kochar from Darbasi, Syria: "The war influenced me a lot. Before joining YPJ, whenever I asked my family about politics, they'd say 'that's not your business, you're just a girl'. But when I saw how the women of YPJ gave their lives for what they believed in, I knew that I wanted to be one of them." Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  A billboard showing fallen YPJ solders, reading, “With you we live on and life continues.” Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  In Western Kurdistan, the Syrian autonomous region Kurds call Rojava, young people are taught the ideology of the PYD (the Democratic Union Party of Syria), an affiliate of PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). Many of these young people will soon be drafted into YPJ and YPG armies to fight ISIS. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  in Syria, graves of YPJ members who were killed fighting ISIS. In the foreground, female fighters are buried together. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  A picture of 17 year-old Cicek Derek, who died in the besieged city of Kobani, Syria, where her fellow fighters were unable to retrieve her body. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  Rojin, the sister of 17 year-old YPJ fighter Cicek Derek who died fighting in Kobani, Syria. "When my mother told Cicek, 'Please stay with your mother', she answered 'I left to fight for all the mothers of the world. I cannot stay here'." Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  A scarf belonging to 17-year-old YPJ fighter Cicek Derek, who was killed in Kobani, Syria, was all that could be brought back to her family. Her body remains in Kobani. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  A wedding dress outside a bridal shop in a town near Qamishlou, Syria. YPG graffiti can be seen on the walls of adjacent buildings. YPJ and YPG members are neither allowed to marry, nor can they have sexual relationships, according their ideology. Newsha Tavakolian for TIME  20 year-old YPJ fighter Beritan Khabat from Derek, Syria. She joined the YPJ four years ago to protect her homeland and put an end to the suppression of women. "I fought ISIS in Jezza and Serikani. Women of YPJ are not scared of ISIS." 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