Obama and Putin in high - stakes diplomatic battle over Syria . Putin gets upper hand by giving Obama an out of military strike for now . Samantha Power , U.S. ambassador to the United Nations , tweeted Thursday : `` Three days ago there seemed no diplomatic way to hold Assad accountable . Russian chemical weapons are now at UN , just where Russian leader wants it . White House tries to give the ball back to Putin , but he must deliver .
Obama and Putin in high - stakes diplomatic battle over Syria . Putin gets upper hand by giving Obama an out of military strike for now . Russian chemical weapons are now at UN , just where Russian leader wants it . White House tries to give the ball back to Putin , but he must deliver .