Putin Calls U.S. Approach in Syria 'Weak, Lacking Agenda'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently criticized the United States' approach to the Syrian crisis, arguing that the U.S. approach is "weak" and "lacks an agenda."

Putin made his comments shortly after the U.S. refused to host talks in Moscow, Russia over the ongoing Syrian crisis, in which the U.S. has accused Russia of seeking to help its ally, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, instead of seeking to defeat the Islamic State.

"I believe this is an unconstructive position," Putin said in a recent statement.

"I don't quite understand how our American partners can criticise Russia's actions in Syria in the fight against international terrorism if they refuse to hold direct dialogue even in such an important area as political settlement," the president continued, adding "What apparently lies at the heart of the weakness of the American position is a lack of any kind of agenda."

Putin went on to add that despite the United States' unwillingness, Russia is reportedly "keeping the door open" for talks with Washington in the near future.

U.S. President Barack Obama had strong words for Putin's leadership in a recent interview with "60 Minutes," saying that he and Putin have different definitions of leadership for their countries.

"My definition of leadership would be leading on climate change. [...] My definition of leadership is  mobilizing the entire world community to make sure that Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon. And with respect to the Middle East, we've got a 60 country coalition that isn't suddenly lining up around Russia's strategy. To the contrary, they are arguing that, in fact, that strategy will not work," the U.S. president recently stated on the "60 Minutes" program.