--- description: Obama said the U.S. knew that Russia intended to intervene in Syria before President Barack Obama met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. title: Obama Says U.S. Knew Russia Planned to Intervene in Syria image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8878291ee6d1d172/698867d8f887dc5a85e92d1f/gettyimages-492216824.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 * [intelligence](/tag/intelligence/) ## intelligence Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Obama Says U.S. Knew Russian Military Planned to Intervene in Syria by [M. Alex Johnson / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## M. Alex Johnson / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 3:00 AM CUT  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](/author/nbc-news/) ## M. Alex Johnson / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 12, 2015 3:00 AM CUT 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 "undefined"). 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 "undefined") Obama Says U.S. Knew Russia Planned to Intervene in Syria ```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":"2026-02-22T11:42:07.552Z","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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