[E212]Obama and Putin set for U.N. showdown, but differ on ……

Obama and Putin set for U.N. showdown, but differ on talks’ agenda

President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in New York next week at a time of high tension in Europe and the Middle East, but the Kremlin[克里姆林宫] and the White House disagreed on Thursday about the top priority for the talks. The White House insisted that the meeting would focus on eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed forces are fighting the Kiev[基辅（乌克兰共和国首都）] government, prompting tough sanctions[严厉制裁] that have damaged Russia’s economy. Moscow, however, said that the main focus would be on Syria, where Russia has built up its military forces in recent weeks with combat aircraft[战斗机], tanks and other equipment in support of President Bashar al-Assad[巴沙尔·阿萨德(叙利亚总统)].

Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov