Obama: I 'Welcome' Putin's Involvement in Syria — 'This Is Not the Cold War\

President Barack Obama said he welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin's involvement with Syria, in an interview that aired Sunday.

“I welcome him being involved," Obama said on ABC's "This Week."

"I welcome him saying, ‘I will take responsibility for pushing my client, the Assad regime, to deal with these chemical weapons,’” he continued. “This is not the Cold War. This is not a contest between the United States and Russia.”

The president, responding to Putin's op-ed in the New York Times, said he doesn't “think that Mr. Putin has the same values that we do."

Obama added that Russian influence in Syria “doesn’t hurt our interests.”

Watch the clip, courtesy of ABC:

In the interview, Obama also noted that he is "less concerned about style points" and "much more concerned about getting the policy right."

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